Exposed
by Afifirechick
Summary: Aria is in her senior year and her relationship with Ezra has been revealed. My idea of what should happen. Story doesn't exactly match up with PLL events, but it's close. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own PLL and am receiving nothing from this other than being creative. This is my first PLL fic so I hope you like it.**

Looking over her shoulder every other minute, Spencer walked briskly through the night to get to Mr. Fitz's apartment. Aria was staying with Ezra and Spencer was her cover story for this particular night. Hanna, Emily, and Spencer took turns being her alibi for over a year and in return, she helped them with whatever they needed, whether it was getting alcohol, needing their own alibi, or arranging secret meetings with someone special. Spencer had been trying to contact Aria all evening but had not received any answer. She didn't really want to interrupt anything was been going on, but this couldn't wait.

She approached the apartment building where Aria was supposed to be and rang the buzzer to Mr. Fitz's apartment. Almost instantly she was buzzed in and Spencer hurried inside. She stepped into the empty elevator and was at the apartment door in no time. She knocked quietly and the door sprang open, "I thought you weren't going to…" Her former English teacher trailed off. "Miss Hastings, what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Aria. I need to speak with her." Spencer wasted no time.

The man at the door put on a confused face, "I'm sorry. I haven't seen Miss Montgomery since school last week. Why would you come here to look? I can give you her mother's number if you'd like. Maybe she's there."

Spencer rolled her eyes and stepped into the apartment uninvited, "Please Mr. Fitz, where do you think Aria says she's staying when she comes here. I'm her alibi tonight, but something came up and she's not answering my texts or calls. I didn't want to interrupt but this is important."

A look of dread washed over his pale face, "She isn't here. She was supposed to be here two hours ago. It never occurred to me that something was wrong. She's been late before, but are you telling me you don't know where she is?"

"Oh my god," Spencer was dialing Hanna's number as Ezra Fitz grabbed his cell phone and dialed Aria's number. "Hanna. I didn't mean to wake you up. Have you heard from Aria? No. It was alibi night at my place. I thought maybe… Ok. Call Em and ask her. Let me know as soon as you get off the phone."

Ezra was starting to panic, "She didn't answer her phone. It rang but she didn't answer."

"I'm sure everything is ok. I'm sure she's at Emily's house. She probably forgot she was coming to my house and then fell asleep at Em's house. She does that sometimes." Spencer lied. She was sure something was terribly wrong, but she didn't want to voice her fears.

They unusual pair sat in silence until Spencer's phone rang. "Emily? No. She's not with you. You haven't heard from her all night? Ok. I'm heading over to her house to see if maybe she's there. Ok. Your room, 30 minutes. Bye." She stood and headed for the door, "I'm going to check her house. Maybe her parents grounded her."

"I'm going with you." Ezra stood and grabbed his coat from the closet.

Spencer shook her head, "I'm sure she is fine. I will call you as soon as I know something."

"No. I need to go with you. I can't sit here one more minute. I'll drive." He was out the door and at the elevator before Spencer could get her bearings.

Sighing heavily, she climbed into the occupied elevator, "This is a bad idea."

Pulling up in front of a house a block from Aria's family home, Ezra parked the car and allowed Spencer to get out and walk quietly up to the door. It was locked of course. Her next plan of action was to scale the tree outside Aria's bedroom window. It wasn't something she had done in over a year, but it was as easy as ever. She peered inside her friend's room and, after allowing her eyes to adjust, noticed the room was occupied. After another few seconds however, she realized it was not Aria, or anyone that lived in her home for that matter.

Spencer slid down the tree as fast as she could and sprinted for Ezra's car. "There was someone in her room."

"Who was it? Was she in there?" Ezra questioned.

Spencer was still trying to catch her breath, "I don't know who it was. It looked like a man, but I didn't see Aria anywhere. I don't know if they saw me. I'm calling her mom." Spencer dialed and waited. Six rings later and a sleepy Ella Montgomery answered the phone.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Mrs. Montgomery, its Spencer. Is Aria there?" Spencer spoke loudly so the woman on the other end didn't fall asleep.

Ella was awake instantly though, "No. She said she was staying at your house."

"I know," Spencer was trying to sound calm, "She never showed up and hasn't answered any of my calls or texts. I've had Em and Hanna trying too and nothing. I contacted you as soon as I figured out something was wrong."

Ella jumped out of bed and started getting dressed, "I'm calling the police Spencer. Will you come over?"

"Yeah. I'll be over in a few minutes. Just going to call the girls." Spencer hung up and instructed Ezra how to get to Emily's house. He stayed in the car while Spencer headed straight for Emily's room.

Hanna was already there and they both looked worried, "Well?"

"No one knows where she is. Mr. Fitz is in the car. He's panicked. I have to go over to Aria's house. There was a man in her room when I looked in through the window. I called her mom and told her she was missing. She's calling the police right now and I said I'd be over there as soon as I could."

Hanna gasped loudly, "There was a man in her room? Oh my god, what do we do?"

"I haven't told you guys the worst part." Spencer was almost in tears.

Her two companions exchanged worried looks, "What?"

Spencer held out her cell phone for the other girls to read. Shaking the girls rose to their feet, 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder. –A'

**A/N: Thank you all for reading. I'd appreciate your reviews. I have a few chapters written, but it's still in one large chunk. So a question I'd like you to answer as you review is: Would you like shorter chapters more often or longer chapters? Will have more up shortly.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews, xxxlostinlalalandxxx, .dreamers, & xUNSP0KEN. And I was informed by .dreamers that I needed to update immediately, so I'm posting another quick chapter that gets into things a little more and it's not what you expect!**

Aria practically sprang out of bed as her alarm clock woke her. The dream she had been having was so vivid and real that she was almost screaming as she woke up. She hadn't had a dream about "A" since the whole Mona-Alison thing had happened. Aria sat down next to her bed and cried for a few minutes until her phone rang. Aria's heart stopped. She was so afraid that "A" had come back to haunt her.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she answered her friend Spencer's call, "Oh my god, I am so glad it's you."

"You thought I was "A" didn't you?" Spencer inquired weakly.

Aria choked on her words, "How did you know?"

"We are all having dreams. Em and Hanna too. I'm freaked out." Spencer was crying on the other end of the phone.

Aria was pulling clothes out to get dressed. "We need to meet. Where should we go?"

Spencer was silent for a minute, "I don't know. Where is safe?"

Aria wasn't sure if she felt anywhere was safe, "How about the café? At least there will be a lot of people there."

Spencer agreed and said she'd call the other girls while Aria got dressed.

"Are you going somewhere, Aria?" Ella Montgomery called from the kitchen as she heard Aria on the stairs.

Aria put on the best smile she could and bounced into the kitchen, "Hey. Spence called and wanted to know if I could meet her and the girls for breakfast at the café."

Her mother glanced at the clock, "A little late for breakfast, don't you think?"

"Well brunch then. We just figured we'd get together and hang out for a while. We haven't really had a chance to do anything together in a few weeks. Emily has swimming and we all have to study for out SAT's. We just want one day off." Aria was trying to sound excited, but she could swear her mom could hear her heart hammering wildly.

Ella smiled and returned to the papers she was grading, "Have fun. But your father and I do want to talk to you later. Ok?"

"Sure Mom. I should be back in time for dinner and if I'm not I will call. Love you." Aria dashed out the door as her mother said goodbye.

The drive to the café was stressful to say the least. Every person Aria saw looked like they could be "A" and she nearly wrecked twice.

Once safely parked, Aria saw her friends' cars already there. She went inside and found the girls at the farthest table from their usual spot. "Hey. Sorry we didn't tell you we moved. Didn't want to take any chances."

"It's ok. I saw your cars here so I just looked around. So…" Aria sat down and waited for the waitress to pour her coffee and leave before speaking again, "What is happening?"

The girls all exchanged nervous, confused looks. Spencer was the first to speak, "I'm not sure. First off, has anyone had any contact from "A"? I haven't."

"Maybe this is all nothing. Maybe our minds are playing tricks on us. Let's think. Has there been anything on the radio or TV recently that could have triggered our memories?" Emily was thinking from a different perspective.

Hanna shrugged, "I don't think so. And if there is I don't remember anything. Normally anything that would trigger anything at all, my ears perk up."

"Yeah, mine too. Normally. But maybe we've all become a little blasé about it. I mean it has been nice not having to worry about anything but normal teenage stuff for the most part. Maybe there is just something we're not picking up." Aria wanted to understand. She didn't want to live in fear again.

The girls sat in silence for a few minutes, playing with their napkins and idly stirring their coffees.

"Wait, listen." Spencer pointed toward the television. On the screen was a reporter for the local news station. They finally realized they had all seen the same story on the news over the last couple of days, after a report from the police was released proving Ian's innocence in the murder of Alison. Even though he was dead, they wanted to clear his name for his son, Ian Jr.

They all sighed, "I can't believe we missed that. I guess I thought I'd imagined it. I mean, we all know what really happened, but I guess with Ian trying to kill you Spence, we all get agitated whenever something like this happens. It's like the Alison situation all over again."

Emily nodded, "I agree. Well at least that's that."

A minute later, Hanna broke out in a fit of giggles. All their tension had been released and it felt good to laugh. Moments later she was joined by her friends and it took a while before they could give the waitress their food order without chuckling.

After another hour, full from their brunch and now worried about their SAT's, the girls returned to their respective dwellings to prepare for the big test Tuesday morning.

Aria returned to find boxes stacked in the foyer of her house. She was terrified her mother was moving out again. She went to the first place she thought her mother might be; the kitchen. She relieved but confused to see her mother with her feet up, still grading papers. "Mom, what's going on?"

"Well. Your father isn't here right now, so I'm going to talk with you right now and your father can join us later." Ella put down her red pen and removed her feet from the chair Aria was moving toward.

Aria spoke calmly, "Is Dad moving out?"

"Well, yes and no. We're all moving." Ella opened this trap door and let Aria fall through without a net. This was the last thing she ever thought she would hear.

"No. We can't move. I'm a senior. I have my friends here. I'm 18." Aria was trying to figure out a way to stay. Her thoughts revolved around school and tests and getting into college, but her main concern was for Ezra. They had been through so much and managed to stay in love and keep their relationship a secret. They couldn't lose each other now.

Ella smiled, "I know how you feel. I don't really want to move either, but I promised your father a second chance and I can't give up on him. He is taking a job in Ithaca, NY. At Cornell University."

"Mom. I can't go. There is so much for me here. I'm four months away from graduating. Isn't there something we can do? Any way he can wait four months?" Aria tried to bargain with her mom.

Ella shook her head, "This is the position your father has been waiting for. And I have a few job offers in the area too."

Aria was speechless and close to tears. Every time she tried to form words, there was nothing there.

"Don't worry," Ella finally chuckled, "We aren't going to make you move. It would be unfair to ask you to give up everything so close to graduation. And I do mean everything."

Aria was pleased she was going to get to stay. She was puzzled by her mother's statement though, "What do you mean, _everything_?"

"Don't think I don't know that you have a boyfriend. I haven't discussed that part with your father. I think he might make you leave if he knew. But I have noticed a difference in you over the last year. You've become more mature. Not the obnoxious teenage girl that I know is well hidden in there somewhere. I am guessing he's older?"

Aria smirked, "A little."

"Have I met him?"

Aria almost laughed, but composed herself quickly, "Not that you would have any idea."

Ella took a deep breath, "Is it Ezra?" She knew in an instant she'd hit the nail on the head. Her daughter had involuntarily stopped breathing and the color vanished from her face in an instant.

**Hope you like it! Please R&R! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews: allthingstv242, hollywood51496, SolitudeMyLove, Cricket1106, xUNSP0KEN, eliza2011, haleyscott305, AngieMarie1111, Jess**

**As for your questions: xUNSP0KEN, if you read the chapters together, you'll see that Aria was dreaming. Sorry if that's not how it seemed. eliza2011, I'm just going with my senior year and I took my SATs in February. But if I edit and repost, I will make some corrections. **

"Mom. What are you talking about?" Aria wondered, trying to seem calm.

Her mother moved her chair closer so she could lower her voice, "Aria. It's ok. I mean, when I first found out I wasn't _exactly_ thrilled, but the more I thought about it, I find its ok with me. He never gave you special treatments or better grades. He graded you as fairly as anyone would have. He's such a nice guy and he's smart. I couldn't have hoped for someone better for you."

"How… how did you find out?" Aria thought they were always so careful.

Ella shook her head, "I never really found out. I just put all the pieces together in my head and they all fit. I didn't know for certain until just now. I just want you to know that I love you and will support you in any way I can."

Aria was in complete shock. She figured it would be at least a year before she could tell her parents and even then they would question whether it started while Aria was his student. She just didn't know what to say. "Do you think anyone else knows?"

"No," her mother stated firmly, "I have access to more evidence than anyone else. I have your cell phone bill with his number all over your phone records. If I didn't know his cell number I would have never made a connection. There are other signs too. Small ones. The way your eyes look whenever I talk about him for any reason. "

Aria suddenly felt horrible, "Am I an awful person?"

"No Sweetie, you aren't. You can't help who you fall in love with. Believe me, I wish it were possible, but it's not. I just need to know, when did it start?"

Aria played with her fingers, not meeting her mother's eyes, "It started right after we moved back from Iceland, before I knew he was my teacher. He thought I was older and I had no idea he'd be teaching at Rosewood. We instantly clicked. It wasn't planned at all."

Ella smiled cheerfully, "I feel better now that I know you were both unaware of the circumstances when you met."

"He tried to break it off," Aria blurted out. She figured it couldn't hurt anything now, "When he went to New York to look for a job, he knew he wanted to be with me. He was going to find a different job so I wasn't his student. Even being away from me that long was too hard on him because he came back."

"He should come over. We should all talk about this. Without your father. I'll call him and tell him to stay at out for a while. I'll tell him we need to talk. Then I'll call Ezra. Is he home?"

Aria shrugged, "He should be." Aria's head began spinning as her mother walked into the other room. So much had happened in the last 15 minutes that she wasn't sure any of it was real. With her mother still in the other room, she called Spencer quickly, "Spence? My mom knows about Ezra."

"What? How? What did she say? Is she going to kill him?" Spencer questioned.

"I'm not sure."

Spencer paused, "To which part?"

"Any of it," Mrs. Montgomery returned from her phone calls, "I'll call you back Spence."

Ella shook her head slightly, "All the girls knew didn't they?" When Aria nodded she continued, "How did the four of you ever manage to keep a secret this big for so long?"

Aria laughed a high pitched, almost psychotic laugh, "I have no idea." If her mother only knew about how many secrets they kept. "What's going on?"

"Oh, your father is going to come by and grab your brother. They are going to a movie or something. Ezra is coming over to discuss my lesson plans. I told him I needed help interpreting the one poem I read and needed… Well it doesn't matter. He'll be on his way shortly."

Aria began wondering about details of her staying in Rosewood, "Mom, where am I going to live? What am I going to do for money?"

"Well of course we'll make sure you have money for whatever you need and I'm not sure where you'll be staying yet. Maybe we can figure that out once Ezra gets here." Ella sighed.

Aria couldn't believe what she was hearing, "You're suggesting I live with him?"

"Well not unmarried of course, but we'll see." Her mother seemed to be lost in her own thoughts and Aria had to sit before she fell over.

Twenty minutes had gone by, before Ezra arrived. Aria's father and brother had just left when Ezra pulled in. He looked cool as a cucumber, but who wouldn't be if they thought they were just discussing lesson plans. The doorbell rang and Aria's mother instructed her to answer the door.

Ezra smiled brightly, "Miss Montgomery. How are you?"

Aria couldn't even fake a smile for him at that moment, "Ok. Come in."

"Um, your mother is expecting me." Ezra tried to figure out the questions in Aria eyes without words. Aria just shook her head and showed him into the kitchen. She wasn't sure what she should say.

Ella scrunched up her face in a grin, "Thank you dear. Now go start packing. We've only got a few days before the movers come to pick up our things."

Aria and her mother both noticed the lump that got caught in Ezra's throat. Aria turned and nearly ran from the room. She crept quietly through the other room, slipped back into the kitchen through the second doorway, and hid beside the refrigerator so she could hear the whole conversation.

"Are you moving, Ella?" Ezra inquired, sounding surprisingly calm.

Aria heard her mother shuffling papers around, "Yes. We're moving to New York. Byron got a job offer from Cornell University that he couldn't turn down. He starts up there in about two weeks."

"Doesn't Aria only have a few months of school left?" Ezra was concerned for her. Aria smiled from her hiding place.

Ella nodded, "Yes, but we can't find anywhere for her to stay here so she can finish school."

"Surely one of her friends can put her up for a few months. That would be hard to recover from; being pulled away from her senior year." Ezra was trying to figure out how to keep her in Rosewood.

"No. We've spoken to all of them and they just can't… hey. Wait a minute. What about you?" Aria could hear the smirk in her mother's voice.

Ezra, on the other hand, lost his composure and his voice cracked, "Me? Ella, I'm flattered but I'm her teacher. That would be inappropriate."

"Don't tell me there's nothing going on between you and my daughter. I can see the way you look at her. There are no decent thoughts in your head, are there? I know there's something going on and the police are already on their way." Ella sounded so convincing.

Ezra stood and began to plead with his colleague, "Please Ella, it's not what you think. She wasn't my student when we met. I thought she was in college. I didn't realize she was my student until later."

"But you didn't break it off as soon as you found out. You've kept this up for more than a year. Why? You knew it was wrong. Why continue it?"

Ezra blurted out the truest answer to that question, "Because I love her. I tried to be away from her and I'm not strong enough. I need to be with her. She makes me a better person. When we're together age is just a number. We are perfect together. I never meant for it to happen, but it did and I wouldn't take it back if I could."

"Ballsy. Your whole life is on the line and you still want to be with her? You're not even trying to apologize." Ella folded her arms across her chest and chuckled, "You can calm down. The cops aren't really on their way. I just wanted to know that, no matter what, you love my baby girl."

Ezra sank onto the kitchen chair as his knees gave out, "I really do love her."

"And I know she loves you. Aria!" Ella called loudly for her daughter.

Aria peaked around the refrigerator, "Yes?"

"I should have known. Why don't you and Ezra discuss what needs to happen?" Ezra stood and Aria fell into his arms in the best hug they had ever shared.

"We'll step into the backyard." Aria took Ezra's hand and led him out of the kitchen.

**Thanks for reading! Please R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all for reading! I like to play jokes on people so it's creeping into my stories a little.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers: hurricanerosie91, Cricket1106, AngieMarie1111, hollywood51496, haleyscott305, teamtiva, allthingstv242 (Ella's reaction will make a little more sense in the next few chapters, but agreed still improbable), iamashleydawn, Gabyproductions, Amber, SolitudeMyLove, Ash, CrazyLove345, and randomness 101-Fanfic Freak!**

**I think the next few chapters will be good. If I get too detailed in anything, just tell me to get on with it. I'm really a dialouge writer and I know I can get longwinded! Thanks all! It means so much to me to have your input and encouragement! Definitely a longer chapter than the others. Hope you enjoy! :)**

The not-so-secret couple sat on the swing outside Aria's backdoor, holding hands quietly for almost half an hour. Every once in a while they would glance at each other, but neither one of them knew what to say.

Finally Ezra broke the silence, "How?"

"She just figured it out. She is very in tune with me I guess. Plus she had my cell phone records and knows your number." Aria tried to hit on the big points of the revelation.

Ezra smiled, "At least there's no one else that figured it out."

"Yeah. So I guess we need to talk." Aria was ready to have the conversation her mother was referencing. After Ezra nodded, Aria continued, "I need to figure out where I'm going to stay here in Rosewood when they move."

"I need a minute. Just to think. I'm just going to step over there." Ezra kissed Aria's hand before releasing it and wandered across the yard. He was pacing back and forth and appeared to be having a conversation with himself. If it hadn't been such a tense moment for Aria, she would have thought he was being adorable. After another couple minutes, Ezra returned and reached for her hand again, "Why not stay with me? I mean I know your mom is ok with us, and living together is a big step, but what do you think?"

Aria shrugged, "Mom says we need to be married to live together."

"You've already discussed this with her?" Ezra was shocked.

"She brought it up."

Ezra ran his hand through his hair, "Then she really is ok with this. Wow. Just… wow. So what about you? I mean, I'm 26 years old. I'm ready to settle down, but you're just a baby. You haven't had any time to experience anything really."

"You didn't have a problem with me being a "baby" before." Aria snapped.

Ezra's face fell, "Oh hey, Aria. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I love you. I always have. I'm just saying everyone your age gets to be impulsive about college and all that and you'd have to come home to me and be married."

"What makes you think that's a problem for me? Ezra, I've lived in Europe. I've got drunk off my ass. I've tripped out on legal drugs in Amsterdam. I'd never do _that_ again, but I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. While everyone else in college is dating and trying to find "the one," I can concentrate on my studies because I know I've already got you waiting at home for me." Aria was a little teary-eyed thinking that this was a dream and she could wake up at any moment and not have anything like this.

Ezra brushed the small tear from her cheek and cupped her face in his hand, "I love you so much Aria. Will you please marry me?"

Aria started crying harder, but had the biggest smile on her face, "Some proposal Mr. Fitz. I would have thought you'd come up with something a little more clever. But of course I will marry you."

"I would have had something amazing planned, but I didn't have time to prepare. Well we are going to have a lot to do for a wedding and we will need to get my bachelor pad Aria-friendly." Ezra mocked.

Aria wiped her eyes and laughed, "As long as you are there, its Aria-friendly."

Ezra suddenly felt bold and leaned in to give his new fiancé a light but passionate kiss on the lips. It was such an amazing feeling for both of them that they were free to love each other. They were still locked together when Ella came out to talk to them.

"Excuse me. I think we should talk together again." Ella smiled. Aria and Ezra sprang apart, because that's what they were used to. "Don't mind me, but if we are going to plan a quick wedding, we need to get a move on. No time to lose, right?"

Ezra blushed, "I'm sorry Ella."

"Please don't be. Ok, so do you guys want to do just a quick justice of the peace wedding or…"

Aria interrupted, "Um, I'd really like to have an actual wedding. I mean, if I have a say. I am only getting married once. I want the pretty dress and all that. It doesn't have to be big, just pretty."

"Oh my…" Ella started crying, "You are already glowing. Of course you can have the wedding you want. Whatever you want. I'm going to take you shopping and we'll get you a pretty dress and well… anything you want."

Aria stood and hugged her mother tightly, "That's so nice of you, Mom. Thank you."

"Yes. Thank you. I have some money saved but I'm afraid it's not enough for the wedding she wants." Ezra stood and extended a hand to Ella.

Ella shoved hand away, "Are you kidding? You're family now. Come here," Ella wrapped Ezra in a huge hug. "You better treat her good. I, of course, won't kill you, but I can hire people to do that."

"Of course Mrs. Montgomery." Ezra grabbed Aria's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "I love Aria and would never do anything to hurt her. You have my word."

Ella smiled, "Wonderful. So what are your plans for now?"

"I think we have to go shopping for rings." Ezra grinned like a fool and his eyes sparkled.

Aria spoke for the first time in a few minutes, "That's a good idea. How about we meet the girls for coffee?"

"The girls?" Ezra raised an eyebrow.

Aria smiled, "Yeah. Spence, Hanna, and Em. They will want to know."

"What are they going to say when they find out you are dating your English teacher?" Ezra wondered curiously.

Aria shrugged, "They'll just be surprised you are still alive after my mom found out."

They all shared a laugh before Ezra and Aria headed for the mall to find their wedding rings. After a couple minutes, Ezra leaned over and turned down the radio, "Your friends already know about us, don't they?"

Aria wasn't sure what to say, 'Yeah they know and I lied to you about it.' or 'No, they have no idea.' and have him find out different later. She decided to go with the truth, "Yeah. They know."

"How long have they known?" Ezra glanced over at Aria while they were at a red light.

Aria chuckled, "You remember when Hanna got hit by a car? The night we got busted by Noel? Since then. They've been there for me no matter what, and they'd never tell."

Ezra smiled and drove on as a car honked at them, "Well, if you trusted them and I didn't get arrested then they must be good friends. Coffee would be great."

Aria couldn't talk on the phone at that moment. She's sure her voice would have given something away. She sent them text messages instead. 'Hey. Wondered if we all wanted to meet for coffee? We need to talk. Spence has an idea of what's going on. Is 5 good? At the mall? Let me know.' It was a standard text message to all of them. Just like always, if there was a part of the message that didn't apply to them, they ignored it.

After she sent the message, she let her hand rest on Ezra's leg as he was driving. 'Yeah,' she thought, 'I could do this every day of forever.' Her phone beeped three times over the next few minutes and all the girls said they'd meet for coffee.

They were at the mall in no time and hurried to the first jewelry store. Neither found anything that stood right out to them. The next two stores were the same. The final jewelry store was the winner. After only a few minutes of browsing, they found the perfect set. They were both instantly drawn to the rings. The man behind the counter hurried over to help them, "How can I help you folks today?"

Ezra smiled, "Well, we are looking at an engagement ring and wedding bands."

"How lovely. When's the big day?" The clerk was sparked by the huge sale he could make.

"Um, we're not sure. Maybe next weekend. We have a few other things to get but figured this would be the first stop." Aria was blushing a little. She never thought she'd be standing in a jewelry store with Ezra looking at rings they were actually considering buying.

The clerk, Thomas, was already pulling out the set that the couple was interested in, "This is a lovely set and actually on sale. It's a three ring set. The engagement and wedding band set for her and the matching band for him. All only $1300 for the set."

Ezra didn't bat an eye, "Would it be available today?"

"That depends on the sizes you would both need. We can get you sized and see what's available." Thomas pulled out a ring sizer and measured Ezra's and Aria's fingers. He then retreated to the back room to see what sizes were in stock. Aria let out a small giggle.

Ezra chuckled, "Was that a giggle? Miss Montgomery, does that mean there is an actual girly girl in there somewhere?"

Aria sighed, "Can you believe all this is happening? I'm so afraid I'm going to wake up and none of this will be real."

"But it is real. I can't believe it either. I never in a million years guessed things would turn out this way. I figured even when the time came to tell them, I'd be the black sheep of the family. Rejected and unwanted. But now that it's out in the open, I can't imagine it any other way." Ezra snuck a kiss as Thomas returned from the back.

He was smiling, "Great news. We have the rings in the sizes you need. So you could take these with you today."

Ezra smiled also, "We will take them." When they approached the register, Thomas explained all the warranty and care plans for the rings. They decided to get the extras, just in case.

"I want to pay for his ring," Aria said as Thomas was ringing up the total.

Thomas smiled, "Traditional, aren't we?"

The couple broke out in a fit of laughter. They were anything but traditional.

Ezra didn't want to make a scene so he just went with it, but once they were out of the store and on their way toward the coffee shop, he spoke his mind, "You didn't have to pay for my ring. I feel weird having your parents pay for my wedding ring."

"Ezra Fitz! For one, its tradition for the bride to buy the groom's ring, and two, it was my money." Aria crossed her arms and gave her fiancé a stern look.

He held his hands up in surrender, "Ok. I'm sorry honey. I love you. It's not like it is going to matter much anymore. What's mine is yours."

"So when do I get to wear my ring?" Aria teased, flashing her bare hand to her almost-fiancé.

Ezra grinned and slipped the ring boxes into his coat pocket, "When I get a chance to propose officially."

"Fine. You are so impossible." Aria leaned over and kissed the man she was going to marry. It felt so good to be out in public. After she turned 18 and was no longer in his English class, the only thing they were hiding from was her parents.

As they approached the coffee shop, Aria already knew where they'd be sitting and concocted a plan to surprise her friends. Aria entered first and went straight to her friends, "Hey guys."

"Oh my god, you are ok. Is Mr. Fitz ok? Did your mom freak out? Come on tell us." Hanna was full of questions.

Aria took a deep breath and tried to look depressed, "Well it was way different than I expected. My mom just said she wanted to talk and we sat at the kitchen table."

"How did she find out?" Spencer held Aria's hand tightly, trying to be supportive.

Aria stifled a giggle, "I wasn't careful enough. She noticed I would become more attentive every time she spoke of him. Also, his phone number was all over my phone bill. I didn't even think to get a second phone or have him get a second phone. It was so stupid."

"What's going to happen now? I mean, is your mom calling the cops or going to the school and having him fired?" Emily questioned.

Aria could see Ezra approaching with their coffees, "Well…" Ezra sat the coffee down on the table, pulled up a chair, and gave Aria a quick kiss, like it was a completely natural thing. Aria loved the surprised looks on all their faces, "Ezra and I are getting married."

No one at the table spoke. They stared at Ezra for a minute, then exchanged glances. Spencer was the one who broke the silence with a giggle, "You bitch! You had us going! We thought your mom would have castrated him. But now you have to start from the beginning, because you're getting married! How?"

Aria and Ezra held hands the entire time they retold the story for her best friends. They all sat in silence while they spoke. Every so often, one of them would open their mouth to speak, but shut it when they couldn't figure out what to say. After Aria was done telling them about ring shopping the girls all wanted to see the rings.

"Not today ladies, Aria isn't allowed to have it until I can properly propose." Ezra smiled. It was nice for him to be able to blend into his fiancé's world so well.

Aria beamed like she just won the lottery, "So here's the deal. We're getting married probably next weekend. I want you all to be my bridesmaids or maids of honor or whatever you want to call it. I want you to wear the ugly dresses and stand next to me."

Hanna stood and pushed her chair back hard, "Aria, I would follow you into the depths of Hell and eat worms for you, but I refuse to wear an ugly dress!" The entire table burst out into hysterics due to Hanna's theatrical style tantrum.

"We should be going. We still need to talk to my dad." Aria said finally after she had caught her breath. "Anyone busy tomorrow noon-ish?" The girls all shook their heads. "Good. Mom and I will pick you guys up to go dress shopping. Sound good? I'll let you know if anything changes."

They all departed and went their separate ways and on the ride back to her house; Aria's stomach was in knots. She had every reason in the world to be nervous. They could hear the commotion inside the house as they approached the front door. It sounded like her dad was the one who had a problem with their relationship. Aria opened the front door and they made their way inside quickly. Aria grabbed Ezra's hand and led him into the kitchen where she could hear her father's tirade coming from, "He's her teacher. How sick is this guy? I knew something wasn't right about him."

Aria knew she needed to get in there and take some of her father's wrath off her mother. She walked through the doorway and into her father's view, keeping Ezra protectively behind her. "Dad, please. Just listen for a minute…"

Byron cut her off, "There is no way I'm listening to anything he has to say. You can bet your ass I'm calling the cops buddy! I'll have you for statutory rape! Your ass will be in jail and you'll never teach again! What kind of sick freak are you? Preying on young girls, getting them to fall in love with you just so you can have your way with them! You disgust me!"

"Sir, please. If I may just speak with you for a moment..." Ezra was attempting to be polite and cordial to the man who was hurling insults at him.

"No! I don't even want to look at you! Just to think of the things you've been doing with your students."

Ella, who had been sitting quietly at the kitchen table, decided it was time to bring out the big guns, "Oh you are one to talk aren't you? You do remember why we broke up right? You were sleeping with your student. Multiple for all I know. I know we said we'd never bring it up again but I think your behavior warrants some of the past to be brought back out in the open. Can't you just take a minute and look at them? They love each other. Did you love the girls you slept with?"

"That's not the point. She's my daughter!" Byron wasn't calming down.

Aria finally lost it and lashed out at her father, "Yeah. I am your daughter, but the girl you were seeing was somebody's daughter too. Did you think about that when you were doing things with her?"

"It's not the same thing. She was over 18. She was legal." Byron was visibly stung by his daughter's words.

Ezra stepped in before he could be shot down again, "Sir, Aria and I haven't done anything."

"What are you talking about?" Ella asked before Byron could speak.

Aria blushed, "Dad, Ezra and I haven't been 'intimate' yet. We've only ever kissed. I've never had sex with anyone. I know that's not what you've always believed about me, but I was saving myself for the right guy. When I found him, it was just too risky for something so stupid. So we've been waiting."

"You've never had sex?" Byron questioned bluntly.

Ezra shook his head, "No sir. I have more respect for your daughter than that. I love her. I just love being with her, in her company. We don't need the physical element to make us perfect for each other."

Byron sat there for a few minutes, letting his blood pressure lower while he pondered the new development. After about fifteen minutes, he finally spoke in a composed manner, "I'm still not sure I like this, but if it's what you both want, what you truly want, I won't stand in your way."

Aria smiled and gave her father a hug, "Thank you. You don't know how happy you've made me."

"I'm not ready to lose you yet. You're my little girl." Byron spoke low so only his daughter could hear.

Aria gave her father a sad smile, "I know, but just know that you have the happiest daughter in the world."

"I'm going to bed. I just need to lie down. Good night," Byron left the room without so much as a glance at Ezra and climbed the stairs.

Ella sighed and sat down at the table again. Aria moved across the room and sat next to her mother, with Ezra following right behind. "Well, that went well." Aria murmured sarcastically.

"It did, actually." Ella stated quietly, "I almost called you to tell you to stay out. I didn't want you to hear your father saying those things. And I didn't want to bring up the past but he needed a little reminding."

Aria leaned against her mother's shoulder, "It's ok Mom. You did what you had to do. Thank you."

"So," Ella took a deep breath and changed the subject, "how was shopping? Did you find anything special?" Ezra pulled the ring boxes out and slid them toward Ella. She picked them up and opened them, "These are beautiful."

"We thought so too. I was wondering if you had any plans tomorrow evening for Aria." Ezra inquired.

Ella shook her head, "None that I can think of."

"I'd like to take her to a nice dinner. So I can be all romantic and propose properly with the ring and the ambiance and all that." Ezra's face reddened.

Ella smiled widely, "Brilliant. Well I should be going to bed too I guess."

"Mom, will you take me and the girls dress shopping tomorrow?" Aria asked as her mother moved toward the doorway.

Ella nodded, "Sounds good. Noon-ish?"

"That's what time I told them we'd pick them up. I'll see you in the morning. Good night." Aria stood and hugged her mother before she went to bed, then she turned back to Ezra, "Now what?"

Ezra shrugged, "We're boring already."

"You want to watch a movie?" Aria glanced at the clock, "It's only eight o'clock and I'm nowhere near ready to sleep yet. Plus we should discuss wedding plans and all that."

He nodded and pulled out his cell phone, "Why don't you pick out a movie and grab your laptop so we can look at wedding stuff. I need to make a few calls before it gets late. This may take a few minutes." He winked and excused himself to the backyard.

**A/N: So how about Byron's reaction? A little bit more believable? Let me know what you think. Please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to all my reviewers: OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, emilyleigh, katieeeeexx, randomness 101-Fanfic Freak, SolitudeMyLove, Brandi, iamashleydawn, teamtiva, xUNSP0KEN, McLucy, xxxTrojan-Princessxxx, Cricket1106, haleyscott305**

**Thanks to everyone who favorite my story or added it to the alerts. Glad to know you like my story.**

**Sorry this chapter is shorter than the last. Just needed a good stopping point and I didn't want to have a humungous chapter, so very simple, sweet, and a little revealing.**

Almost an hour later, Aria had found a movie, changed into her lounge pants, and been looking through wedding ideas and everything they would need to worry about. Ezra was still in the backyard on the phone. Aria didn't go out to interrupt. Those conversations needed to happen. She did go into the kitchen every so often to make sure he was still in the backyard though. She was almost ready to call it a night when he finally finished his calls and reentered the house. "I think I'm done on the phone for the night."

"I'll say." Aria noticed he was chilled and motioned for him to sit on the couch. She wrapped her fuzzy blue blanket around his shoulders and threw the pink blanket across both their laps. She settled down next to him and began pulling up all the websites she had saved in the last hour.

Ezra looked at her strangely, "You aren't even going to ask?"

"Ask what?" Aria questioned innocently.

He rolled his eyes, "Who I've been on the phone with for an hour. You didn't want to know?"

Aria could only pretend so long, "I'm dying to know. I just didn't want to pry."

"You're not prying," Ezra clasped his hand around hers, "It affects you now too."

She tucked a few loose hairs behind her ear and set her laptop on the coffee table, "Ok. So who were you talking to?"

Ezra let out a loud laugh, but quickly covered his mouth, forgetting everyone was in bed. "Sorry."

"Don't worry. I doubt anyone in this house is sleeping yet."

He smirked, "I just was going to say, 'Who wasn't I talking to?' I was on the phone with my mom, my brother, Mr. Reed, and Mr. Stevens."

"At the same time? Talented…" Aria nudged him playfully.

"Ha ha. No. Obviously I had to tell my mom."

Aria looked nervous, "What did she say?"

"She said it's about time. She thought it was about time she was getting grandchildren."

Aria's face went pale, "But…"

Ezra cut her off, "Please don't worry about that. I don't want children at least for a few more years and definitely not until you are ready. I told her that and she that was fine. At least I was on the right track."

Ezra could see the relief on her face, "Ok. That's good. So what did your brother say?"

"He's happy for me. He can't believe I would be with a student, but I told him I couldn't he was with a guy. I asked him to be my best man. I know the girls all have that title, but he's the only one I could have chosen."

Aria giggled, "Your brother is gay?"

"Hence 'the right track' comment from my mom." Ezra stifled another laugh.

Aria cocked her head to the side and looked at Ezra, trying to figure him out, "I don't get it. I've never seen you like this. This carefree, boyish side. Why haven't I met this Ezra?"

"I'm sorry. I'm really a goofy kind of person. It's just whenever I was with you, it was great, but I always had to be looking over my shoulder. I could never let all my guards down. As much as I would have loved for it to be a normal, lighthearted relationship, there was always that part of me that had to be completely careful and reserved. Do you understand?"

Aria nodded, "Absolutely. I know exactly what you mean."

"Do you like this Ezra?" he wondered carefully.

Aria leaned in and gave him a long, meaningful kiss, "Yes. I'd like to see him more often." After a few minutes wrapped in each other's arms, Aria pulled away, "We probably should keep a little distance here. At least until my dad has fully cooled off."

He agreed, glancing toward the staircase, "So, um, after my brother, I called Mr. Reed. Well, Jason."

"He's your friend right? The one that teaches in the elementary school." Aria knew they should maintain some distance, but she snuggled closer and rested her head on his shoulder.

She felt Ezra's head brush against her hair, confirming her hypothesis, "Yeah. He is relieved that he doesn't have to keep the secret anymore."

"He knew? Wasn't that risky?" Aria didn't move, but her whole body tensed up.

Ezra shook his head, "Not any more risky than three teenage girls knowing."

"Touché." Aria chuckled quietly. "How did he find out? Or did you tell him?"

"A little of both." Ezra had begun running his fingers through her hair, "He saw a sweater of yours that you left at my place one night. When he commented she was either a very small woman, or a student, my face gave it away. I filled him in the rest of the way after that. He was ok with it. There's a difference between his students and you. He is going to be my groomsmen. I don't have a third so if we want the sides to be even, you'll have to provide a third gentleman."

Aria snickered, "Well I don't have a gentleman, but I have a brother that could work."

"You should be nice to your brother. He's the only one you have."

Aria sighed, "Why didn't it ever come up before that Connor is gay?"

"It's not something he announces," Ezra explained, "You wouldn't know it just to look at him. He doesn't act like the flamboyant guy man. He's reserved. Although, his dates are normally flaming. Mom was not happy. She thought he was joking at first, but realized he wasn't and threw him out." Aria gasped and Ezra was quick to continue, "She let him come back after a few hours. He was home by supper. She just revamped the house rules a little and forgot all about it. He couldn't have guys in his room and I couldn't have girls in mine. I thought to myself I should have told my mom _I _was gay so I could have girls in my room, but decided it wasn't worth it."

Sitting up, Aria pushed his hand away from her head, "If you don't stop playing with my hair I'm going to fall asleep."

"Sorry," he smiled sheepishly, "So last I spoke with Mr. Stevens, the principal."

Aria urged him to continue, "And?"

"He's not happy." Ezra didn't meet Aria's gaze.

"What did he say? Are you going to get in trouble anyway?" Aria couldn't believe she had forgotten about his boss's reaction to their relationship.

Ezra patted Aria's hand, "Don't worry. It's not that big an issue. It took a few minutes to convince him that we haven't had a sexual relationship, but he believes me now. He said there are rules and regulations still in place for relationships like this, but he says due to circumstances, we may have to work around them."

"What does any of that mean?" Aria wasn't calming down any.

Ezra smiled, "I know this isn't how we wanted things, but we may have to keep our relationship hidden a little longer. At this point it's more of an appearance thing. He says he won't prevent the marriage or the cohabitating, but we have to maintain a very strict hands-off relationship at school and have to keep things low key around town until after graduation. He doesn't want unnecessary media attention on the school for something so trivial."

"That's it? I can so handle that. So basically, we just keep doing what we've been doing and we'll be fine after graduation." Aria sighed. She was so relieved neither of their futures would be compromised by this.

Ezra looked at Aria devilishly, "Well I'm hoping to do a little more than what we have been doing."

"Well obviously. I meant around town and school and such." Aria traced her finger down Ezra's cheek and across his chin, sending chills down his spine.

Ezra grabbed her hand and lightly bit the end of her finger, "You need to stop teasing. It's only a week. You are making it very difficult to behave in your parents' house."

Aria gave him the most seductive look she could muster and pulled her hand away, "I'm so sorry. I'll be a good girl until then. I won't like it, but I'll do it."

"Tease." Ezra shifted around trying to get comfortable again, "So did you find anything useful online?" He desperately wanted off the subject they were creeping toward.

Aria rolled her eyes and pulled her laptop back into her lap, "I found a lot, actually." She and Ezra spent the next two hours looking at everything Aria had found while looking up a couple new things. The two most important things were to find someone to marry them on Saturday and to go to the court to file for their marriage license. They decided they would go after school Tuesday to apply for the license since it would be at least 24 hours before they were allowed to use it. Neither of them was religious, so a church wedding wasn't a necessity. They definitely wanted to be indoors though. They decided to put their conversation on hold since they both had a lot they needed to do the next day. Aria walked Ezra to the door and almost started crying. "Hey, what's wrong baby?"

"I don't want to go to sleep." Aria tried to pull herself together.

Ezra embraced her tightly, "You're afraid that you'll go to sleep and wake up to find everything different, right?" Aria simply nodded trying to stifle a sob. "No worries. This is real. But if it makes you feel any better, I will write myself a note when I get home that I can read when I wake up and I will tell your parents everything."

"That's a good idea. I will do the same thing." Aria wiped her tears away and didn't want to look him in the eyes.

Ezra tilted her chin up with his finger, "Would you look at that? You are even beautiful when you cry. Not that I like seeing you cry, I'm just saying." He leaned down and gave her a soft, passionate kiss. "I love you, Aria."

"I love you too, Ezra." She kissed him again and gave him a nudge out the door.

He stopped and turned when he was halfway to his car, "Just think. In less than a week you'll be Mrs. Fitz. I love you and will pick you up tomorrow evening at seven o'clock. Wear something nice."

Aria waved, "Love you. Good night." She closed the door before it took another half an hour for him to leave. "What a wonderful day." She wasn't sure if she was just thinking that or if she was talking to herself, but she was so happy she didn't care. She turned off the downstairs lights, grabbed her computer, and climbed the stairs to her room.

**Thanks for reading! Hope you all leave reviews! You guys are so great. I'll have another chapter up in the next couple days! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to all who reviewed: SolitudeMyLove, Cricket1106, Jess,writingcracker, katieeeeexx, Bebailz123, allthingstv242, VballBabe44**

**I think you will all like this chapter. It's a lot longer than the others. This beginning part is pretty funny, I think. Just a heads up, this story is turning out a little differently than I expected but I think the overall outcome will be the same. Hope you like it!**

The next morning, after a restless night, Aria marched straight into the kitchen where her parents and brother were having breakfast, "I'm dating my English teacher."

Ella lowered her newspaper a fraction of an inch, "Isn't your English teacher a woman?"

"Not this year's teacher. Mr. Fitz. I'm dating Ezra." Aria looked at her mother as she had lost her mind.

Her mother resumed reading her paper, "That's a relief. For a minute I thought you were trying to tell us you were a lesbian." After surveying the horrified look on her daughter's face, she added, "And I thought the two of you were engaged?"

Aria sighed and began making herself some breakfast, "I was just making sure yesterday wasn't a dream. And if it was, I wasn't going to hide it any longer."

"That was a little theatrical even for you, don't you think?" Byron muttered from behind his crossword puzzle.

"I suppose. Very little sleep mixed with strange nightmares when I did sleep make for a strange combination in the morning." After eating quickly, Aria went upstairs to shower and get dressed for the shopping trip. After she finished doing her hair and makeup, she skimmed through her closet for something suitable to wear to dinner that night. She didn't have anything that was appropriate for the mood. She just had her normal, everyday clothes. Even when she had to dress up she just customized with her existing outfits. She decided she'd buy something new today.

She hurried down the stairs to find her mother waiting by the door, "You know, I'm glad your friends know that you are never on time. I wouldn't want them thinking it was my fault we were late picking them up."

"We won't be late, just on time." Aria knew her father was still uncomfortable about the whole situation, but she gave him a big hug before they left, "Thank you."

Byron sighed, "You're welcome. Just promise you aren't going to make me cry at your wedding."

"I'll try." Aria and her mother hurried to the car and were at Spencer's house first. Emily and Hanna were there too. "Did you guys stay here last night?" Aria questioned as the girls climbed into the backseat of the car.

Emily shook her head, "No, but we know how your 'noon-ish' works, so we all decided to meet here to save you the extra few minutes."

"That's why I love you guys." They all chuckled and headed to the only bridal shop outside the city. As Ella and the girls climbed out of the car, Aria was concerned, "Mom, what if they don't have anything that I like here?"

Ella sighed and shrugged, "Then we will just have to drive into the city. I just figured why go through all that hassle if we don't have to, right?"

The five women strolled into the store to find it almost empty. They only other woman trying on dresses was by herself and no one the girls recognized. An older woman, who wore too much makeup, approached the group, "Welcome ladies. How can we help you today?"

Ella nudged Aria in the back, "I'm getting married and need to find a dress."

"Wonderful! My name is Nancy and I'd be happy to help. So when's the big day?" The woman pulled out a pen and began writing on the clipboard she was carrying.

Aria lowered her voice, "Saturday."

The woman looked at the group over the edge of her glasses, wondering if it was some kind of joke. After deciding they looked honest, she threw her scarf dramatically across her chest and shoulder and dashed across the room, "Then there's no time to waste! Follow me."

Ten minutes later, Aria was standing in a small dressing room by herself in a bridal bustier and slip, waiting for Nancy to start bringing dresses in to try on. Aria had been honest when she said she wasn't sure what she was looking for, so Nancy decided to bring her a few different styles and go from there.

Nancy opened the door brought three dresses to start with, "So we'll start with these and go from there."

"Sounds good." Aria took a deep breath and did as Nancy told her to get into the first dress.

Nancy was lacing up the back and explained some small but important dress tips, "Now some dress are easier going over your head, but you want to be careful of your hair. You don't want to get your hair done in the dress in case something gets on it…"

Five minutes later, Aria wondered how far down the dress laced because Nancy just kept talking. Finally she was told to go out and stand on the circle platform. She had barely gotten out the door when her friends and mother gasped. Aria wondered if it was good or bad, but it only took one look in the mirror to figure it out. The dress was hideous. It was so puffy. It looked like her clothes were five sizes too big and there was a big hose filling the whole thing with air. Aria burst out laughing quickly followed by her entourage. A camera flashed behind her and she was certain her mother was documenting her humiliation.

"I thought not, but I figured we'd start with bad, because it can only get better." Nancy even had a little chuckle in her.

Aria turned around and posed for her mother a few times. She figured they would be good memories later on. She followed as Nancy directed her back into the dressing room. The next dress she came out in was better, but still not the right one. An hour and twenty dresses later, Aria was getting frazzled. Nothing she had tried on was her at all. She knew she wanted the white wedding dress, but she still wanted to feel like Aria.

Ella was pacing around, wondering if they should just give up and drive into the city. Even Nancy seemed frustrated, "I'm just not sure what I should look for next. I'm going to get a fresh pair of eyes." Nancy left Aria standing in rejected dress number 21 and disappeared into the other room.

"I say 2o more minutes of this and we are out of here. I'm sorry Mom. I know I'm difficult. If you want me to pick one here I will deal." Aria felt bad that her mother seemed unhappy.

Ella quickly perked up, "No, Hun. I don't want you to get a dress that you don't love. I saw a few that were nice, but I could tell they didn't make you happy. So if we have to drive into the city to find you your dress, we will."

Just then Nancy came back over to them, accompanied by another, younger woman. "Hi. I'm Raychelle. It seems we're having a hard time finding the perfect dress. I'd like to talk to you for just a few minutes so I can help make your dream wedding a reality." Nancy left the women to go greet a couple that just walked in. "I'm sorry. I have to say that. I think its a little daytime soap-ish, but Nancy likes it and she's the boss. So I would like to get a feel of your style. What's your everyday style like? What are the dresses lacking?"

Aria shrugged, "They just aren't me. I have a one of a kind style, I guess, and none of these dresses fit into that."

"Hang on. I've got some pictures on my phone." Hanna pulled her cell phone from her bag and flipped though her pictures until she found some of Aria. She showed the saleswoman the pictures of Aria's unique wardrobe.

Raychelle brightened up, "I see now. Well let me see what I have in the back. We have a lot of previously altered and discontinued dress back there. I will be just a few minutes.

Ten minutes later, Raychelle returned with only two dresses, "I'm positive it's going to be one of these two. We'll try one first, then we'll try the one I think you'll pick last." Raychelle led Aria back into the changing room and helped her with the first dress. Aria could already tell she liked this one better. I seemed to fit her better and she hadn't even seen it yet.

She stepped out of the changing room and everyone gasped again, but Aria could tell it was a good gasp this time. Aria didn't look into the mirror until she was standing in front of it properly. With a final deep breath, she looked up. It was stunning. She wasn't even sure she wanted to try on the last one.

"That's beautiful." Emily commented quietly. No one seemed to be able to find better words than that. Her mother, grinning from ear to ear, took some pictures as Aria posed and twirled.

Raychelle interrupted, "Ready for the last one?"

"I don't know. I really like this one." Aria looked herself over in the mirror again. She looked good.

The woman smiled, "If you like this one, you will fall in love with the last one. Trust me."

Aria decided to go along with Raychelle. After all, she found this one after only a few minutes with her. Putting on the second one Aria knew what Raychelle had meant. The final dress felt like it was custom made for her. She took a few breaths, willing herself not to cry. Raychelle exited the room first and allowed Aria to come out on her own. When she did, she knew that this was the dress she wanted. All of her friends squealed and her mother eyes filled with tears. Her mother never cried. Aria stood in front of the mirror and got misty eyed herself. It fit just right and hugged her in all the right places. It was strapless with a heart-shaped neckline with ruching covering the bust and a beaded design was embroidered across, under the bust. It flowed around her legs like silk and had the old style fabric buttons in the back from the top of the dress down to the small of her back. The flowing fabric pooled on the floor and when stretched out, formed a small train. No one could say anything about the dress, meaning that it was perfect. Raychelle passed around the tissues and they were all dabbing their eyes.

Raychelle left the women alone for a minute and returned with a few veils and tiaras. "I wasn't sure what you wanted as far as accessories go, but I figured I'd give you the overall visual." She slid the first tiara on and added an elbow length veil that had a beaded edge matching the beading on the dress.

"I love the veil. I don't like the tiara." Aria pulled the tiara off and studied her reflection. "Do you have a beaded headband or something a little more subtle?"

Raychelle smiled and held up exactly what Aria had meant, "I figured that's what you'd want." She slipped it onto Aria head and let it sink in.

"What do I do about the train?" Aria wondered, realizing there was a lot of fabric on the floor.

The saleswoman smiled, "Silly me. Well we can either have it bustled up. That costs extra and will take few days, or..." Raychelle reached under the back edge of the train, "we have a loop here that you can just slip on your wrist and it will keep the train out of the way." She slipped the loop over Aria's hand and let it rest on her wrist. "On the wrist works better if you are walking around, but if you're dancing it can rest in the crook of your arm."

Aria smiled, "This is it. Oh my god you are wonderful. Mom, what do you think?" Aria turned away from the mirror to face her mother.

"I can't believe you are all grown up and getting married. You make me so proud of you and you are so beautiful." Ella was gushing and stopped herself from saying anymore before she was completely sobbing.

Raychelle smiled, "Thumbs up from the mom! Awesome! And the good thing about this dress is it already fit you perfectly so we don't need to alter it. Are you ready to take it off so we can get it steamed and packaged?" Aria only nodded and followed Raychelle into the changing room a final time. She appeared only a few minutes later in her street clothes.

Spencer hurried over and hugged her friend, "That dress totally screams Aria. It looks like it was meant for you."

"I think it was." The five women approached the counter with the bra, slip, and headband in hand. The dress and veil had been taken into the back room so it could be steamed to remove the wrinkles and packaged into a garment bag.

Raychelle was waiting for them at the register with a mildly distressed look on her face, "We've hit a little snag, but no worries."

"What's happened?" Aria worried. 'Of course,' she thought, 'something had to go wrong.'

Raychelle scrunched up her nose, "Well we can't find a price on the dress. There aren't any tags and we can't find it in the books anywhere. We contacted the store owner and she knows every dress that had ever come through here. She'll be here in about an hour. I know that's not what you want to hear. If you'd like to leave your other things here I will just hold them behind the counter and when she gets here, I can give you a call."

"We have to go over to the mall for a few things, so we'll be in the area. Just call us when she gets here." Ella instructed firmly. Aria handed her other items to Raychelle and exited the store with her mother, her friends following right behind.

Aria tried to shake off the setback and focused on making Hanna try on the ugliest dress in the mall. Luckily for the girls it was prom season so there we multiple dresses to choose from. They all decided on the same dress, but no one could agree on a color. Aria wasn't really concerned with color schemes, so she let the girls each choose their own color. Although she did have to tell Hanna she couldn't wear the yellow. Finally they walked out of the store with three bridesmaids' dresses; crimson red for Hanna, royal blue for Spencer, and emerald green for Emily.

Then they went into the shoe store and had each found a pair of shoes they liked in no time. Aria picked out peep-toed heels that were bright blue. "Something blue, right?" Ella rolled her eyes but joined in on the laughter.

They still had some shopping to do, but they figured it had been an hour so instead of waiting for the call, they went back to the bridal store to get Aria's dress. When they arrived, they found the owner had just arrived as well. She was behind the counter looking the dress over through the plastic it was wrapped in. "I just don't know. I remember every dress in this store, but I can't place this one."

Aria walked up to the counter and waited for the verdict. She was looking through the display cases at different wedding accessories when the owner turned to her, "Miss Montgomery, my name is Shirley Watson. I'm sorry my dress is giving us some problems. I just have no idea… Wait. Maybe I do. Excuse me." She entered a small room behind the counter that Aria assumed was a small office.

Five minutes later, Shirley came back with a large smile, "I found it. And boy are you lucky. This dress is actually about six years old, which means it's definitely discontinued and that means clearance. So adjusting for the economy and inflation… I'd say this dress will be $109.99."

Aria gasped, "That's it?"

"Yes. I'd say you made out well, would you like me to ring you out?" Shirley smiled. It seemed to Aria that she just wanted to get the dress out of the inventory, but Aria didn't care. It was the deal of a lifetime.

Aria smiled at the woman, "Yes please. I have that pile of things there too and can I get one of the white garter sets?"

"Sure. They never did tell me when you are getting married." Shirley began ringing up Aria's purchases.

"Saturday." Aria responded. She was already used to this question.

Shirley's eyes got wide, "No wonder you need the dress so fast. Got a little bun in the oven?"

"No," Aria stated flatly. She didn't need to explain her motives to someone she didn't know.

Shirley gave an apologetic smile, but didn't say anything else on the subject, "Ok, so your total is $380.50." Ella swiped her credit card. While the computer was printing the receipts, Shirley tucked the dress back into the garment bag and zipped it, and bagged the accessories. After Ella signed the receipt and they had their purchases in hand, they left the store to head back to the mall.

Emily's stomach was the first one to audibly growl, although by now they were all hungry. Ella smiled, "How about lunch before any more shopping?" Everyone readily agreed.

They decided to just go to the food court in the mall. Everyone split up to get their own food and they met back up at a table in the center. They chatted about hair and nails while they ate. Aria and Ella discussed the guest list for their family. It wouldn't be very big. She didn't have any family in the immediate area, so it was only her parents and brother, and the three friends that were sitting there. Aria told them they could all bring dates if they wanted. Her mom and dad had a few friends that they may want to invite, but otherwise, that was it. Aria said she knew of at least two guests for Ezra.

"I forgot to tell you Ezra told Principal Stevens last night." Aria stated after stuffing a french fry in her mouth.

Ella raised an eyebrow, "What did he say?"

"Well he wasn't exactly pleased, but I'm of age and he doesn't want to cause any problems for either of us in our futures. He wants us to keep out relationship and marriage low key until after graduation." Aria explained plainly. She didn't feel like going into details.

Ella played with her lo mein noodles with her chopsticks. "That's nice. At least he's not causing any problems."

"Mom, can I ask you something? I need a serious, honest answer." Aria couldn't play along any further until she got some answers.

Her mother nodded, "Of course sweetheart."

"Why are you ok with this? I mean, don't get me wrong. I am so glad you are ok with this. I know you gave yourself a little time before you actually spoke to me about it, but you freaked when I got my belly button pierced. I'm having a relationship with my English teach and you don't bat an eye? I want the truth." Aria needed to know.

She laid her chopsticks down and folded her hands, "I will tell you, but this does not, I repeat, does not reach your father. I had an affair with my professor in college. He was married and I was stupid. He didn't teach any of my classes, but he was my advisor. He handled my class scheduling and my mentoring. I was 20 years old and trying to figure out a way to switch out of my 8am Saturday math lab. I put on a revealing shirt and short skirt and went to his office, hoping I could flirt my way out of it. Well it went way past flirting and it lasted two years. I had fallen in love with him and wouldn't have known how to break it off if I had wanted to. Well one night it was icy on campus and I slipped and hit my head on the sidewalk. My friend was with me so they took me to the hospital and she went to his office to tell him what happened. My friend knew what was going on but never trusted him for a minute. She turned on her tape recorder, just in case. She was in luck because he did nothing but bad mouth me when she began talking about me. He said I was insane. That nothing had ever happened between us. She went so far as to tell him she knew we were together and she wasn't going to tell. He said the only thing that happened was I threw myself at him all the time but he never did anything with me. I didn't believe her when she came to the hospital to tell me he wasn't coming. Even after she played the recording. But when I went to see him after I got out of the hospital, he treated me like nothing had ever happened and I meant nothing to him."

"Mom, I'm so sorry. I never knew. I never would have guessed." Aria reached across the table and squeezed her mother's hand.

"It's okay," her mother waved her hand dismissively, "it was a long time ago. It doesn't matter now, but back then I was brokenhearted. So when Ezra stood up for your relationship in front of me, knowing it could cost him everything, I knew it was the real thing and I knew he was the right guy for you."

Emily, Spencer, and Hanna, who had been listening the whole time, 'awed' in unison and Aria rolled her eyes, "Give me a break. At least now that it's out in the open I will have other people to talk relationship problems with so you guys will get a lower dose."

"There is a valid point." Spencer replied mockingly.

Aria's phone began ringing and she snatched it up quickly, "Hello? Hi. We're just eating lunch. It was wonderful. You'll love it. Oh you did? When do we have to do that? That's cool. In the city? Sounds good. I need you to make up your guest list. I am going to get a box of those print them yourself invitations. I mainly want them for photo album purposes, but I figure our guests would like them too. Ok, I will see you a little later. Love you."

Her friends were so excited to be able to mess with her now, they all started shouting toward the phone, "Love you Ezra! Miss you! Kissy faces!" They added kissing noises to top it off.

"Ok, bye." Aria rounded on her friends, "You guys are horrible."

Emily crossed her arms, "You do the same thing to us."

"I know. But it's different now."

"Yeah, because it's you and you're a weenie." Hanna teased.

Ella chuckled with the girls, but didn't want to harass Aria, "What did he say?"

"Oh," Aria almost forgot, "I just told him we got my dress. He said he spoke with a guy at his mom's church and he'll marry us. It's only half an hour north of here. He said he made dinner reservations in the city for 7:30 and wondered if I'd be ready by 7 and told him to make a guest list."

Her mother glanced at her watch, "Well it's nearly 3 o'clock so we should really continue shopping. What else do you need?"

"I need a dress for tonight. I don't have anything that's nice enough to wear for the occasion. I'll pay for it. I think that's it." Aria shrugged. "I know we need to pick up a few other things, but not today. I can't really do a lot until I figure out how many people are going to be there."

Emily shook her head, "You forgot something. We need to get you wedding day underwear. Something sexy for Ezra."

"All right, let's go." Ella grabbed her tray and headed for the garbage. After everyone disposed of their garbage, they headed for Victoria's Secret first because it was the closest.

Aria was sure she was going to be embarrassed and she was right. Emily went straight for the lacey thongs. "Here you go. I'm sure he'll love this." Emily sling-shotted the underwear and it landed on Aria's head.

"Eww. I can't wear these for my wedding. I want something comfortable. I'm going to be in them all day."

Twenty minutes later, Aria only found one pair that looked good and decided to buy them before her friends tried to talk her into musical panties. "I was right. That was embarrassing."

Ella led the way to a store that none of the girls had ever shopped in, "Let's look in here."

Aria was surprised at some of the dresses the store sold. The store seemed a little more grown up than she normally dressed, but she found one dress that she thought was perfect. It was young enough that she looked cool, but it also made her look more mature. It was a simple, sleeveless black dress, with a lower neckline than she normally wore, but still tasteful. It was knee length but there was a slit up the side if her right leg. She tried it on and everyone agreed she looked stunning. She threw a knee length dress coat on over the dress and it made the outfit. Plus it would keep the dress hidden until she was ready to reveal it to Ezra. She already had the perfect necklace, shoes, and earrings to go with it.

"What about you?" Aria asked her mother as she exited the dressing room with the second dress purchase of the day.

Ella didn't understand, "What about me what?"

"You have to get a mother-of-the-bride dress." Aria informed her.

Her mother smiled and shook her head, "No thank you. I have the perfect dress at home. I've never even worn it. I bought it about a year ago because I just had to have it, but I haven't had any opportunity to wear it."

Aria nodded, "All right. I'll deal with that." Aria was in the checkout line and found a jewelry set that included earrings, and necklace, and two bracelets that would go perfetly with her wedding dress. She had to have them. She approached the counter, paid for her purchases, and they all headed out. "Ezra said the minister or pastor or whatever he is wants to meet with us Wednesday night. He normally does premarital counseling but since we are pressed for time, he's going to do a crash course. So I think I'm all set for today. Are we all ready?"

Everyone climbed back into the car and they began their trip back to Rosewood. They dropped the girls off at Spencer's house and headed for home so Aria could get ready to go out.

"So did we have fun?" her mother wondered on the way.

Aria smiled, "Yes. I had the best time with you. Thank you so much for supporting me. You have no idea what he means to me."

"You are welcome. Just promise me you'll think long and hard before you decide on children. I mean, I want grandchildren. I just want you be certain that it's the right time for them, whenever that comes." Ella had to give Aria a small lecture.

Her daughter laughed, "No worries there Mom. I don't want kids at least until I'm out of college. I have the most perfect guy in the world and I want to enjoy time for just us and I don't want to take care of a baby and do homework."

"That's good. I'm glad you are still looking at an educated future. So back to the task at hand, do you want an actual reception or do you want to reserve a restaurant or something like that?"

The bride-to-be shrugged, "I'm not sure. I'll talk it over with Ezra and see what he thinks. I know wherever we have it I want a DJ or at least music. I want the first dance thing."

"Whatever you want. It's your day." Ella was glad they arrived at the house, because she was getting emotional again.

Aria took her purchases up to her room and hung her wedding dress in the closet. She went to the bathroom and decided another shower would be the best thing to do for her hair. It was messed up from constantly putting on dress after dress and running around all day. She took a shower just long enough to wash her hair and lather up with the soap she knew Ezra loved.

She put on her underwear and continued doing her hair and makeup. Once she thought she looked presentable, she put on the necklace and earrings Ezra had given her for Valentine's Day. She had never needed to hide them because she had so much jewelry; no one looked twice at the necklace. Except for Ezra. If Aria woke up and wasn't in the best mood, she would wear his gift proudly around her neck. It made her happy that she could wear her love for all the world to see and no one knew. Ezra always noticed the necklace and smiled brightly, which always made Aria's heart flutter.

She glanced at the clock and for the first time in a long time, she was running ahead of schedule. She had almost an hour to kill before he was supposed to arrive. Rather than sit there waiting, she slipped her jeans and blouse back on and headed downstairs. Ezra was already sitting in the kitchen with her mother, "Why didn't you tell me you were going to be early?"

"I couldn't wait," he replied truthfully, "I was too excited. You look great."

Aria smirked, "This isn't what I'm wearing out."

"I didn't figure it was. But you look great just the same." Ezra smiled and stood to give Aria a hug.

Aria held up her hand, "You've ruined the grand revealing of my look for tonight. You need to go drive around the block a couple times and then knock on the door. My mom will answer the door and call me downstairs. I will look stunning. Then we can go."

Ezra and Ella both laughed at Aria's plan, "As you wish. How long should I be gone for?"

"Just five minutes or so. Let's say four laps around the block." Aria instructed carefully.

Ezra bowed and headed out the door. As soon as the front door was shut, Aria jogged up the stairs and threw her clothes in the hamper. She slid into the dress and called her mother to help her, "I can't get it zipped and I know I will break it if I try to pull much harder."

Ella fixed Aria's dress and headed back downstairs to answer the door like the director told her to. Aria slid her feet into her sexy black heels and spritzed herself with her favorite perfume. She pulled on her new coat over her new dress and did up all the buttons, covering the entire dress. She grabbed her regular purse and dumped its contents into her black sequined purse. Just as she was touching up her lipstick, she heard Ezra knock on the door. Half a minute later, her mother called her down. Aria dramatically exited her room and descended the stairs to find the love of her life waiting with a dozen roses.

"You look amazing. I got these for you." Ezra handed Aria the flowers.

Aria smirked, "Nice touch."

"It's called improvisation. I thought your script needed a little spice." Ezra pecked her on the cheek and Aria vanished into the kitchen to put her flowers in water. Two minutes later they were out the door and headed for the city.

Ezra held her hand the whole way, "I'm excited for tonight. I'm more excited for Saturday, but since we are here, we might as well enjoy everything one day at a time, right?"

"Absolutely." Aria relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the trip in a comfortable silence with Ezra by her side.

**If you want an idea of what the dress I envisioned looks like, here's the link: .com/Product_Chiffon-Soft-A-Line-Gown-with-Side-Drape-WG3078_Bridal-Gowns-Shop-By-Designer-Davids-Bridal-Collection**

**Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. Please review. I like hearing what you guys think. I will update soon. Promise :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**My reviewers are slacking. Thanks to those who did review: anynomous, Bailey, Cricket1106, iamashleydawn, SolitudeMyLove, teamtiva**

**I like hearing what you guys think and any suggestions you have. I'm not going to hold a chapter because I'm not getting reviews, but please review anyway!**

Where they arrived, the restaurant they were going to was impressive just from the outside. There was a line out the door of people waiting to get tables. Ezra pulled the car right in front and handed his keys to the valet. He went around the other side, opened Aria's door, and helped her out of the car. The couple walked in past the line and up to the hostess, "Do you have a reservation sir?"

"Yes. It's Ezra Fitz." He replied smoothly.

The hostess smiled, "Special occasion?"

Ezra shook his head, "No. We're just in the mood for a nice dinner."

"Well we will be more than happy to accommodate your wishes here with us tonight. Jamie will be seating you now." The hostess handed Jamie two menus and whispered a message to him before he led them away and seated them.

Jamie handed them each a menu, "Your server tonight will be Hilary and she will be around in just a minute to get you settled in. Is there anything else I can do for you this evening?" He left when the couple replied they were fine.

"Oh my goodness Ezra," Aria leaned across the table and lowered her voice, "How did you get reservations for a place like this in a day's time?"

Ezra smiled, "Do you want the macho version or the truth?"

"Let's start with the macho version." Aria smirked.

Ezra leaned across the table and motioned Aria closer. In the best Italian accent he could muster, he whispered, "I've got connections."

Aria giggled, "Ok. So what's the real story?"

"My friend, Jason, actually had a reservation but I traded him courtside seats to the 76ers game in two weeks." He explained quietly.

She looked skeptical, "How did you get courtside seats?"

Ezra shrugged, "I won them. At PTA meeting last month. One of the parents donated them and we had to buy raffle tickets. I only bought tickets to help the PTA. I'm not a huge basketball fan. But I was talking to Jason about tonight and he said he had reservations here for him and his wife. They've both wanted to try this place, but when he mentioned the tickets, and she's a huge 76ers fan too, they decided to trade with me."

"I didn't know you won them. Why didn't you tell me?" Aria wondered.

Ezra's smiling face faltered, "Because I knew I couldn't take you. It's a televised game and I knew at least one person who knew us would watch the game. It was too risky. You know I would have loved to take you."

"I know," Aria squeezed his hand, "It means just as much to me knowing you wanted to take me."

He smiled mischievously, "But we wouldn't be able to go anyway. We're booked that weekend. First full weekend as Mr. and Mrs. right? Do you want me to help you take your coat off?"

Aria shook her head, "I got it." She stood and removed the jacket concealing her new dress.

Ezra's mouth hung open, "You are absolutely breathtaking. Is it new?"

"I bought it special for tonight." Aria replied as she hung her coat on the back of her chair and sat back down.

"You're wearing my necklace. I don't think I ever told you this, but every time you wore that to school and I'd see you wearing it, I almost gave us away. I would start to say something and catch myself or I almost kissed you once." Ezra smiled.

Aria chuckled, "It's probably a good thing you didn't."

"You think?" Ezra and Aria laughed quietly.

Just then Hilary interrupted with two wine glasses and a bottle of wine, "Hi there. My name is Hilary and I will be taking care of you tonight. Would you like to sample the wine of the night?"

"No, we don't drink. Thank you." Ezra smiled. After she took their beverage order and offered to check Aria's coat, they decided they should look over the menu.

Everything was very expensive. Aria didn't know what Ezra was thinking. "Are you out of your mind? It'll cost a fortune to eat here."

"Aria, you are worth every penny. Besides, I think we will both want to remember tonight." Ezra winked at her.

The couple discussed the menu until Hilary came back to take their order. Aria was so nervous she could barely eat, but after a little prodding, she ordered the house steak. Ezra ordered the lobster tail platter. Hilary took the menus and went to put the order in, "I'm glad you ordered something substantial."

Aria smiled, "Well I'll eat what I can, but I was actually wondering something. Can I have a bite of your lobster?"

"Why didn't you just order the lobster then?" Ezra teased.

She lowered her head and blushed, "Well, you'll laugh if I told you."

Ezra paused before replying, "Yes, I probably will, but you can still tell me."

"I've never had lobster." Aria admitted, a little ashamed.

Ezra couldn't believe his well-traveled companion had never eaten lobster, "Never?"

She shook her head, "No. When I was younger, maybe 8 or so, my parents took me out to dinner for my essay winning the elementary school-wide writing competition. A third grader beat out the sixth graders. Of course my parents were proud. Well we saw all the lobsters in the tank when we walked in and I asked why they were there. After learning they were to be eaten, I was horrified and we had to find a different restaurant. I just never had any interest in eating it after that. But I think I would like to try it. Something new to start our new life together."

"Sure Hun, you eat anything from my plate you'd like. As long as I can try your steak." Ezra compromised.

Aria extended her hand across the table and Ezra shook it, "Deal."

They talked for fifteen minutes or so more before their food was brought out to them. Everything looked delicious. Aria began arranging her food around her plate so nothing was touching and began eating. Ezra had yet to lift his fork and when Aria looked up from her plate, he was chuckling. "Did I miss something?"

"No," he shook his head and picked up his fork, "it's just so cute watching you eat. You are a little OCD about it, you know."

Aria blushed and nodded slightly, "I know. But you are the one that loves me, even after watching me be meticulous about my eating habits."

"A+ for using 'meticulous' correctly in a sentence." Ezra laughed and began eating his mashed potatoes. Twenty minutes later, Aria was preparing herself to eat the bite of lobster Ezra scooped out of the tail for her, "Come on. It won't bite."

Aria took a deep breath and leaned over so Ezra could feed her. She took the lobster in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed and was now evaluating the taste.

"Well?" Ezra wondered what she thought.

Aria shook her head, "It was gross."

Ezra shrugged, "I can't believe you didn't like it."

"I lied. I wish I didn't like it. Then all my years of standing up for lobster rights wouldn't have been a waste, but it was delicious." Aria smiled and attacked Ezra lobster tail with her fork, scooping out a larger chunk and stuffing it in her mouth.

He smiled, not saying anything. He just admired this woman in front of him so much and he could not believe she picked him. She was everything he had ever wanted for a wife and in less than a week that would be a reality.

Aria cut off almost half her steak and laid it on Ezra's plate. "What are you doing? You had two bites of my lobster and that's half a cow."

"I'm never going to eat all that, and any food this good needs to be eaten fresh and not relegated to the leftover category." Aria explained. Ezra couldn't argue and began cutting and eating the steak.

Two empty plates and 3 drink refills later, the couple decided to go elsewhere for dessert, but not before Ezra could pull out his romantic proposal. He gave Aria a goofy look. "What?" she wondered.

Ezra stood, and announced loudly above the din, "Excuse me, can I have a minute of your time?" The entire restaurant quieted. He continued, "I just want to make a toast to this incredible woman I have sitting in front of me, looking completely embarrassed right now. She and I have been together for a year and a half and together, we have been through things that most people have only read about in books. We have gone through everything, and though we've had our ups and downs, we made it through together and I cannot imagine my life without her in it. I know that it won't be easy, but I promise I will try to make every day with you more special as the last. So Aria Montgomery, I love you. I love you as much as I did the day I met you, and if you will do me the great honor of being my wife, I would be the happiest man that ever lived and I will make you the happiest woman in the world." Ezra knelt down on one knee and opened this ring box in front of Aria, revealing the ring she and Ezra had chosen together.

Aria was absolutely speechless and she had started crying the moment Ezra had announced her name for the entire restaurant to hear. There was a silence that filled the restaurant heavy from the crowd's anticipation. She finally found her voice, "Ezra, of course I will marry you."

Her fiancé slid the ring onto her finger and pulled her to her feet in a passionate embrace, amidst the applause of their audience. Minutes later, Aria sat across from Ezra, not sure of what she should say next. She finally uttered the closest word she could find to put with her feelings, "Wow."

"Wow what?" Ezra smirked a little.

"Wow that proposal." Aria was still nearly speechless.

Ezra was feeling very smug, "I told you I could come up with something awesome with a little preparation."

Aria had a permanent smile on her face, "That's a better proposal than I ever could have come up with myself."

Just then, Hilary brought over their check and a gift wrapped box, "Here you go, sir. Everything is here as you wished. Would you like me to take care of the check for you now?"

He handed her his credit card without glancing at the bill, "Thank you Hilary."

She left them alone once again and Aria's curiosity got the better of her, "What's in the box?"

"Well, when Jason called to switch the reservation into my name, he gave me the phone when he was done and I went over the proposal I had in mind. I had the whole thing recorded and photographed for us. I knew you would have to see the look on your face. Plus I know that you want to make a wedding scrapbook album." Ezra opened the box and showed Aria the disks and papers that were inside.

Hilary returned with his card and Aria's coat and Ezra led Aria by the hand out of the restaurant.

As they were waiting for the car to be brought around, he helped Aria with her coat, "Where would you like to go for dessert?"

"Well, I have never been there, but there is somewhere I'd love to go, under one condition."

Ezra smiled and held Aria's door when the car arrived then ran around to the driver's side and climbed in, "What's the condition?"

"I get to pay for dessert." Aria pulled out her phone and began looking for the GPS to take them to their new destination.

Ezra smiled and agreed, "I have a question though. About you paying for things. If it's not my business, just say so. But where do you get money? I mean that much money. You paid for my wedding ring and the dress for tonight, and now you want to pay for dessert. I'm just curious is all."

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask me that." Aria sighed.

Ezra didn't understand, "Why? What's wrong?"

"Well, ever since we were young. Before I even went to Iceland, we've been coming into the city, a few times a month, to make some extra cash. At first it was just being dates for gentleman that would pay. Then we found clubs that never checked ID's and had amateur night where we could go dance for men. They liked Emily the best. It got so some of the girls would leave with the guys for a while and come back. Mainly Hanna after she lost the weight. She liked the feeling of guys wanting her. I started going again once we moved back. I never had sex with any of the men, but that doesn't mean they didn't pay well for other things. It was always older gentlemen. I have a lot of that money saved still, on top of the jobs and everything in Iceland." Aria explained quickly.

He couldn't believe she was telling the truth. He pulled over on a side street and parked the car, "Please tell me you are joking."

Aria shook her head slightly, "Why do you think your age has never been an issue for me?"

Ezra took a deep breath. 'How could she keep this from me?' and 'How could she do such things?' and 'Why didn't she just ask if she needed money?' were only a few questions that bombarded his brain. He wasn't sure what to say. "Well I still love you. I just am so shocked. I mean, holy crap."

"Do you want to call off the wedding?" Aria whispered.

He didn't know how to answer that. Of course he didn't, but after everything that she said, maybe they should wait. He wasn't sure why the next words out of his mouth were "Of course I still want to marry you." Apparently his heart was answering for his head.

A second later, Aria's laughter filled the car, "Thank you so much. I have to tell you that's a relief. By the way, that was completely made up. Nothing like that ever happened. I wouldn't do that to you."

"Why would you tell me a story like that?" Ezra was relieved but a little angry also.

Aria gave Ezra an apologetic smile and held his hand in both of hers, "I'm very sorry. I just wanted to see if I threw the most outrageous story that was believable at you, if you'd still want me. I won't do it again. I promise. I love you."

"Yeah, don't do that to me again," he whispered huskily. "I almost had a heart attack. I didn't think it was possible, but you are very convincing. Maybe you should become an actress."

She leaned over and kissed him passionately, "I love you Ezra. I am sorry."

"I know you didn't mean it," he kissed her again and pulled the car back out onto the street. "Where are we heading?"

"To the Cheesecake Factory. Have you ever been?" Aria wondered.

He shook his head, "No. I've always wanted to try it though. Where is it?"

Aria directed him until they pulled up in front of the restaurant. Ezra parked the car and once again helped Aria out of the car, "Are we eating here or do you want to take it to go?"

"Either way." Aria replied taking Ezra by the hand and leading him inside. They decided to get a table and eat there.

They waiter came over to the table to take their order, "Can we just have the dessert menu?" The waiter handed them the dessert menu and informed them he would return.

Ezra looked over the menu, "Wow. $8 for a slice of cheesecake. Are you sure you want to pay?"

"Of course. Spencer's parents went out to dinner one night that we were staying over last year and brought back a piece of cheesecake for each of us. It's the best thing I have ever tasted, aside from your lips." Aria grinned seductively.

He smiled and rolled his eyes, "Cheesy."

"You love it," she teased.

Ezra made a thoughtful face, "You never did tell me how you have so much money."

"Oh, well when my grandfather died when I was 6, he left me some inheritance. It was actually quite a bit, but my parents decided to invest the money in the stock market for me and my inheritance multiplied by five. When I was sixteen, my parents sold the stocks and presented the money to me from my grandfather. They explained what they did and I opted to keep the money rather than reinvesting it. I actually have a lot of money, Ezra." Aria explained.

The truth was so far from her made up story, Ezra could only smile and reply, "That's nice." He was curious to know how much she had meant by 'a lot' but decided it would be something to find out at a later time.

"I really freaked you out earlier, didn't I?" After Ezra nodded, she continued, "How could you even believe that about me?"

Ezra didn't have an answer, "I was trying really hard not to believe it, but as I said, you are very convincing. I would have married you anyway. As long as you stopped your city trips."

"You really are in love, aren't you?" Aria tipped her head to the side and grinned.

He nodded and brushed a hair out of her face, "Absolutely. I'm marrying this amazing girl who doesn't know how wonderful she is or how I'd die without her."

They waiter came over, took their order, and returned a few minutes later with a very large piece of cheesecake for each of them, "Now I understand the $8 a slice."

"You don't understand anything until you taste it." Aria waited for Ezra to take a bite and his eyes closed as he savored his first bite. "See what I mean?"

Nodding and stuffing a very large forkful of cheesecake, Ezra mumbled, "I'll say."

Aria picked at her own slice, but after such a large dinner, she could barely finish half. They both got takeout boxes and hurried to the car as it had started to rain. By the time Ezra got the door unlocked and they climbed into the car, they were both more than a little wet.

"Do you want to go back to my place? We can both dry off a little and go over wedding stuff." Ezra wondered as her fumbled with the heater, trying to warm the car up before they made their way out of the city.

His fiancé nodded and they were glad it was a Sunday or the traffic would have been horrendous.

After a little more than a quarter of an hour, they arrived at Ezra's apartment complex. He reached behind his seat and withdrew an umbrella. Aria crossed her arms and teased him, "That would have been helpful earlier, don't you think?"

"I didn't know it was supposed to rain. Besides, you look extremely sexy when you're wet." Ezra grinned, but blushed as he realized how dirty his words sounded.

Aria had an idea, "Do you have a t-shirt or something I can put on when we get upstairs?"

"Sure. I have plenty. Why?" Ezra thought that was a silly question.

Aria took his hand, "Leave the umbrella. There's something I've always wanted to do." Ezra tossed the umbrella over his shoulder and went around to the other side, opening the door for Aria. He grabbed her hand to pull her toward the front door, but she held him in place, "Come here."

He didn't need to be told twice. He came back over to her as she slid her arms around his neck and pulled him close. He was about to protest when she pressed her mouth softly against his. He couldn't help but kiss her back and snaked his hands around her waist. They held each other close, deepening the kiss with every passing minute. They were both content to just stay that way forever, but the cold rain finally got the better of them and they raced inside. Once they were safely in his apartment, Ezra looked pleased but slightly confused, "Not that I'm complaining, but what was the point of that?"

"Well, you'll probably think it's dumb and immature." Aria hid her face in embarrassment.

Ezra pulled her hands away from her face so he could look her in the eyes, "I'd never think that. What was that?"

"I, uh, I've always wanted to make out in the rain. To see what it felt like. I really liked it." she began undoing Ezra's tie.

He pulled her in close and kissed her again, "Me too. It was very sensual. You know, we could go hop in the shower and continue experimenting."

Aria groaned, "As much as I'd love to go back there with you, we both know what is most likely to happen, and as much as I want you, I think we can wait a week. That way I am definitely a virgin until my wedding night. Besides, wedding stuff…"

Ezra smiled and kissed Aria's forehead, "You are absolutely right. Why don't I go into my room and lay out something for you to put on and change myself, then we'll toss your clothes in the dryer?"

"Good plan, but as long as you promise to behave, I will just come back there with you." Aria grabbed his hand, but he backed off a little with a fiery look in his eyes.

"I can't make that promise."

She smirked, "Well I guess its best that I wait out here then." He kissed her again before heading to his bedroom. Aria pulled out her phone and dialed her mother. After three rings, a sleepy woman answered, "Hey Mom. I just wanted to let you know that I'm at Ezra's. We're going to go over some wedding stuff and guests and all that other stuff. I didn't mean to wake you up. I was just letting you know I'll be home in a little while. Love you. Night."

"Did you wake your mother up?" Ezra enquired, entering the living room in a pair of sweat pants and a college t-shirt.

Aria shrugged and placed her phone on the table, "Apparently she trusts us. Now you turn around. I'll leave my clothes here on the chair and while I'm putting clothes on in the bedroom you can put these in the dryer." He did as asked and in no time she had shimmied out of her dress and padded down the hall to his bedroom. There on the bed were a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, just like the ones he was wearing. She chuckled lightly and slipped the clothes on quickly. When she returned to Ezra, he was sitting on the couch with a pen and a notebook, and had two cups of hot chocolate sitting on the coffee table. "Oh look, we match," she teased sarcastically.

"Are you ready to get to work?" he smiled and pulled her onto the couch next to him.

Aria picked up her mug and they set their minds to work. Forty-five minutes later, they had decided on two different venues for the reception and a guest list of 14. They were going to try to get the gathering area of the church for the reception, but if that wasn't possible, they had a restaurant in mind.

"So we need a photographer and videographer. I don't really care who does the video as long as it's nice, but I'd like a good photographer." Aria commented looking over the list of things they needed.

Ezra looked at the list for a minute, and then pulled out his cell phone, "You know, I think Connor's boyfriend of the month is a photographer. Let me check." He sent a text and set his phone back down. "Do we have a color?"

"What like a wedding color? No. I let the girls pick out their own color. So if you are thinking tuxes we can just go with the standard black and white." Aria practically read Ezra's mind.

He grinned, "Exactly what I was thinking, except: bowtie or regular tie?"

"Whichever you want, but you have to wear the vest. You wouldn't be Ezra without a vest." Aria laughed and started tracing an imaginary vest on Ezra's shirt, "I think a regular tie would look better than the bowties. They're just too weird."

"A regular tie it is. So we'll have to go get the tuxes this week. Probably Thursday. What's next? Flowers…" Ezra began reading of the dwindling to-do list.

Aria reached over and crossed that one off, "I will go to the florist with the girls tomorrow after school or sometime before if we feel like ditching."

"I didn't hear that." Ezra's phone chimed and he read over his new text message, "We have a photographer. His name is Marco, by the way."

Aria scribbled on the guest list, "Does your brother really have a different boyfriend every month?"

Ezra shook his head, "No. It seemed like he did for a while, but he's been dating Marco for 4 months I think my mom said. So the next is music."

"That will depend on out venue. You know, the more I think about it, the more I just want to have it at the restaurant. We can get a reservation and set up a little space for our first dance and everything, but it doesn't need to be big. There are only sixteen guests including us."

He agreed, crossing off the church, "Alright, so I will call them tomorrow and you will call the florist. So who are your friends bringing as guests?"

"Wow," Aria began laughing, "Well I guess you'd learn sooner or later, but you may not like it."

Ezra looked at Aria quizzically, "Why? Who is it?"

"Well it's not that you won't like it. You may just be surprised. We all seem to be in secret relationships. I knew about them, but no one but the girls knew about you."

"You are still being very vague sweetie." Ezra poked her in the ribs a few times.

Aria nodded and swatted playfully at his hands, "Ok. If you must know I will tell you. Hanna is bringing Caleb Rivers."

"He's a trouble maker. How can we trust him?" Ezra wondered.

She grabbed his hand and sighed, "He's not a trouble maker, just troubled. His foster family was horrible. He's been staying at Hanna's for about a year. Probably a little less. He's really a nice guy once you stop seeing what everyone else sees. So Spencer is bringing Toby Cavanaugh."

"Wow. I had no idea they were a couple." he couldn't believe that they were all hiding someone. He couldn't wait to hear about Emily.

Aria fidgeted with her bracelet, "Emily's date is the one we have to keep under wraps. I mean Hanna's mom is allowing Caleb to stay there and knows about them, and even if Spencer's parents found out about Toby it would be okay, but no one can know about Em's date."

"That's fine. I want your friends to be happy." Ezra steadied her hand.

After a deep breath, Aria continued, "Em is bringing Paige McCullers."

Ezra looked confused, but started laughing a moment later. When he noticed Aria not joining him in his amusement, his mood sobered, "Oh. You're serious? Paige is gay? And I'm assuming, due to the high security, her dad doesn't know?"

"Correct. Emily had been seeing Paige since not long after Maya was sent away." Aria brought him up to date on all her friends' dating histories.

Ezra sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "You guys are a handful. How did you ever manage to keep all that a secret? I'm not talking about you, but typical teenage girls gossip."

Aria folded her arms across her chest, "What makes you think we are typical teenage girls? Have we ever seemed typical to you?"

"No," Ezra replied seriously, "no, the four of you have a way about you that isn't like normal people in general. It's like you are looking out for each other. Almost like you are all looking for that stray bullet to jump in front of to save your friends."

She sighed, "Remind me to tell you a story sometime. Its way too long and complicated to get into tonight, so please, don't ask me to explain. Not yet. We have plenty of time for that."

"Alright. I won't ask. But I'm guessing there is something more to your little group than you are telling me. Just promise that when you tell me later, I won't freak out." Ezra pleaded with Aria.

She smiled and placed a gentle kiss against his cheek, "I promise. It's not anything bad. Just extremely complicated and it may take until our first anniversary for you to understand."

"I trust you." Ezra gave Aria a loving kiss before stretching and looking at the clock, "Wow. I didn't realize how late it was. I should get you home." He stood from his place on the couch and went to retrieve Aria's clothes from the dryer. "Oh crap."

Aria looked up at the sound of Ezra's distress, "What's wrong?"

"I had the dryer set on air fluff earlier to get the wrinkles out of my shirt. I never switched it back to dry when I put you dress and coat in. They are still wet." Ezra replied, holding up the damp garments.

She shrugged and smiled, "Can I just hang them up here and wear these home?"

"Sure. Let me go hang them in the bathroom. I'll be right back." He disappeared down the hall and returned a few minutes later with a sweatshirt in his arms. He handed it to Aria, "Here. I figured you'd want something warmer than a t-shirt once we go outside."

Aria went to take it from him, but when she reached her hand out, he grabbed it and pulled her close. He unfolded the sweatshirt and helped Aria put it on. She giggled as her head poked out of the neck hole, "You are so adorable. How did I ever get so lucky?"

"I think that's a question we'll be asking ourselves for the rest of our lives, because I feel like there's no way I could ever deserve you." He wrapped her in a giant hug and began lightly kissing her neck.

She was enjoying it, but she pulled away, "I really think it's time to go. I can't keep telling you no." With a wink, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door, with Ezra right behind her.

Pulling up in front of her house, they noticed only the porch light still on, "Ok. I will see you tomorrow. I'll try to stop by after second period. Are you going to call the restaurant in the morning?"

"Yes. I'll call probably during lunch. Are you ordering flowers tomorrow?" Ezra inquired as he caressed the back of her hand.

Aria nodded, "Yeah. I'm going to see if the girls want to ditch after lunch and go to the flower shop. Plus maybe get our nails done. While we're in the area I can go to the mall and see what I can find for wedding favors. Any ideas?"

"I'm sure whatever you pick out will be just fine. You probably shouldn't tell me you are going to ditch school either. I am technically supposed to report it." Ezra teased.

Crinkling up her nose and nodding, Aria agreed, "No problem. Next time I plan on ditching school, I just won't tell you. And then when I'm not there and you are worried, its your own fault."

Ezra shook his head and threw his hands up in defeat, "Ok, point well taken. Well this has been, by far, the second best day of my life." He moved in to kiss her, but she pulled back.

"What do you mean second best?"

He leaned in and kissed her sweetly, "The first best day of my life is the day I met you. I love you."

"I love you too. Good night." Aria climbed out of the car and Ezra waited until she got inside the house before heading back home.

**I hope you liked the chapter. It was another long one. Next chapter will be shorter. Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Wow! You guys are fabulous! Thanks for so many awesome reviews: Cricket1106, katieeeeexx, xxxTrojan-Princessxxx, gawjus, hurricanerosie91, iamashleydawn, Youngwriter16, raybug, Sarah, AnneBaileyLiterati, Lover, XoXoLaXgUrL, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, katySayo1234883**

**I'm excited for this next chapter. I'm not sure why. But I hope you enjoy!**

The next morning was like any other morning. Aria woke up a little late, took a quick shower, dressed and headed downstairs. She tossed a slice of bread in the toaster and texted her normal morning greeting to Ezra. She ate her toast quickly and waited for her brother in the car. Everything was exactly how it always was, except for the diamond engagement ring she wore on a chain around her neck.

Aria went straight to her locker where she knew her best friends would be waiting, "Morning."

"Aria! How was dinner and everything last night?" Hanna inquired. Her excitement was contagious.

Aria smiled, "It was wonderful."

"Did he ask the question?" Emily wondered, speaking in semi-code.

The smile on her face said it all, "Yes. It was so romantic. He announced it in front of the whole restaurant. It was so great to not have to hide."

Spencer grabbed Aria's bare hand, "Where's the ring?"

"On my necklace. I will show you guys later. Speaking of later, do you want to ditch after lunch? Mani-pedi's for everyone, my treat. Plus I need to go to the florist and order bouquets and run to the stationary store to pick up a few invitations. Just as mementoes really." Aria explained her afternoon plans and they all agreed to leave after lunch.

Aria's first two periods dragged and even though she loved English she just couldn't wait to leave for the day. She could tell this entire week of school was going to be a lost cause. As soon as the bell signaling the end of second period rang, she packed her bag and hovered outside Ezra's classroom until all the students had filed out. She slipped inside and closed the door quickly, "Hey, Mr. Fitz."

"Miss Montgomery, how can I help you?" Ezra was visibly happier when he saw his future wife.

She pulled out an English assignment from her other class, "Well I just got this back from Mrs. Glossenger and I think she's being far too lenient on my writing. I'd like you to look it over for me and tell me what you think. That is, if you get the time. I know you are busy."

The door opened and a few students entered, "Absolutely. I will definitely look over this for you. What did you wind up doing your scholarship essay on?"

"It's a secret. But I'm just not as sure about my writing as I used to be and I'd like some help preparing for my final paper." Aria replied. They had gotten so they talked in code very little and when they were having a conversation in his classroom, it was normally legitimate.

Ezra nodded and wrote a note to Aria, "Ok, well here are a few topics that I think you would do well writing about. Do you want to look that over and come see me after school? I can think up a couple more if those don't feel right."

"Unfortunately, I am leaving during lunch, but I can get back to you tomorrow on these. Thank you, Mr. Fitz. I need to get going. I'll come by tomorrow." Aria winked so subtly that if he hadn't been looking for exactly that, he would have missed it.

Aria reached her Trigonometry class just as the bell was ringing. Aria mentally groaned as she thought about enduring math at a time like this. She pulled out her book and while the teacher was busy writing on the board, she pulled out the note from Ezra, 'You look beautiful. I love you. PS. Where's your ring?' They hadn't discussed whether or not she would wear it in public, but she didn't want to answer any questions. Although her three best friends were the only ones that knew, Aria had many people in the school she spoke to regularly and didn't want to get into any in depth conversation with any of them. They still weren't allowed to be a normal couple, so she needed to keep the secret for a little while longer.

After what seemed like a century, the lunch bell finally rang and Aria was glad to be heading out. She met up with the girls and they slipped out the cafeteria door to their cars. It wasn't an issue to be leaving. They were all eighteen and could sign themselves out whenever they wanted, but they didn't want any questions at the front office.

Once on their way, Spencer glanced away from the road to look at Aria, "Okay. We've waited all day. Where's the ring?"

"Hang on." Aria undid the necklace and slipped the ring onto her finger.

Her three companions began gushing about the ring and how beautiful it was. The only topic of conversation the entire way to the florist was the ring. Aria was glad when they arrived because as much as she loved the ring, there was only so many times she could hear how gorgeous it was.

There was a very short red-headed woman that greeted them when they entered, "Welcome to Daisy Moon's Flower Palace. My name is Glenda. Can I help you with anything today?"

Aria grinned widely, "I hope so. I know this is short notice, but I'm getting married Saturday. Is there any way we can arrange for some flowers by then?"

"Well, let's see." Glenda pulled out a calendar notebook and flipped through until she found that date, "Well we don't have any events that day, or the day before. It's only going to depend on how much you are going to need."

Pulling her list from her purse, she began going over it with the florist, "Well I don't need a lot. I need five boutonnieres, one bridal bouquet, three bridesmaids' bouquets, and two corsages.

"That's it?" Glenda skimmed the list that was in the young woman held in her hand.

Aria nodded, "Yes. It's a very small affair. We have my three bridesmaids, three groomsmen, my parents and his mother. We have a few other guests as well, but no flowers needed."

Glenda took out her order pad, "We can definitely accommodate your needs by Saturday. So first, what are your colors?"

"We don't really have colors. My bridesmaids are wearing different colors. One crimson, one royal blue, and one emerald green. The tuxedos are going to be standard black and white. I think I'd like white roses in my bouquet. Can we do the same for them, maybe a color accent here or there?" Aria requested.

"Yes. That's very simple. Anything special for the corsages and boutonnieres?"

Aria didn't have a preference, "Whatever you think will look good."

"Lovely. Do you want the tossing bouquet and the souvenir bouquet?" Glenda wondered as she continued to write out the order details.

Aria shrugged, "What's a souvenir bouquet?"

Glenda held up a finger and retreated to the back of the store, returning seconds later with four different bouquets. She set them all out in front of them as she explained, "The big one here is the bridal bouquet and the smaller version here is for a bridesmaid. This one here is identical to the bridal bouquet except that they are fake flowers. Most brides that get real flower bouquets get this as well. That way when your bouquet dies, you've got this one that will stay this way. Then this small simple one is also fake and used for the bouquet toss."

"Ok then. I guess we'll take one of each of those also. Is there any way I can have a few color accents in my bouquet as well? The same colors that go with their bouquets?" Aria wondered.

Ten minutes later, they were on their way to the mall. "That's a lot of money for flowers." Emily commented just before they reached the mall.

"I think it was worth it. And the woman threw in the tossing bouquet for free, so that was nice." Aria was thrilled with the flowers she'd picked out and couldn't wait to see the finished products.

They all turned to Aria once they got inside the mall, "So where to first?"

"Well there are things I still need to get for the wedding and we're getting our nails done. So I guess let's go to the nail salon and see if they are able to get the four of us in now or if we should set up an appointment for a little later."

Everyone agreed and headed for the salon. As expected, when they arrived they was no one waiting. They had Spencer and Aria in the pedicure chairs and Hanna and Emily sitting across from them getting their manicures within minutes of their arrival. Over an hour later, Aria felt relaxed and was glad she could spend some quality time with her friends. She knew once she was married, she wouldn't be able to do this kind of thing as much anymore.

They made their way through the mall, stopping at various stores to find all the items on Aria's list. They had gotten a package of very elegant looking print-your-own invitations. They then picked out black and white striped candles for all guests that would be attending. "Ok, last I need attendants' gifts for the guys. I know my brother is into sports, and I know his brother is into guys, but otherwise I don't know him or Jason at all." She glanced at her phone, "Give me a minute; I'm going to call Ezra."

Aria stepped off to the side, leaving her friends to talk. She returned a few minutes later, "What did he say?"

"He said they both like to drink. I was thinking stainless steel flasks with their names engraved on them. My brother will think it's cool he gets an adult gift too." They approached the personalized gift store and Aria asked the girls to wait outside.

Fifteen minutes later, Aria exited with a smile on her face, "I'm all set in there, but I was wrong before. I need to get a gift for Ezra."

"What for?" Hanna wondered.

Spencer answered for Aria, "Its tradition. The bride and groom exchange gifts after the ceremony."

Hanna mocked Spencer and all the girls giggled, "Ok. Do you know what you want to get him?"

"Not exactly. Oh wait, maybe. How about… hmmm?" Aria began walking away and her friends followed, wondering what she was up to.

Twenty minutes later they exited the old bookshop that sat in the forgotten part of the mall. Aria squealed with delight, "I cannot believe that had it! I absolutely cannot believe it. It's amazing! I'm stunned. Can you believe it?"

"Aria. We get it. It's great, but can you please tone it down a notch before we are being chased by a pack of dogs that thought they heard a dog whistle?" Hanna stuck her finger in her ear and pretended to be deaf.

Aria smiled and lowered her voice a little, "I'm sorry, but this is a miracle."

"We know," her friends all replied in unison. They all chuckled and decided it was time to find some food.

They decided to go to an actual restaurant than hang out in the food court again. They found themselves at Olive Garden and were quickly seated. After they ordered, Emily chuckled, "You know. I thought the flowers were a lot of money, but that was until I saw how much you spent on a book. A single book. Where did you even get that kind of money?"

"You know I have my inheritance." Aria shrugged and began digging into the salad the waitress just delivered to them.

Hanna leaned close and whispered, "How much do you have?"

"Hanna!" Spencer's reaction made Hanna blush. She tried very hard to sink into her seat while Spencer was scolding her.

Once Spencer was finished, Hanna turned back to Aria, "I'm sorry. It's none of my business."

"It's not a big deal. I have quite a bit left. I started out with forty thousand. After the investment, I had a little over two hundred thousand. Now I think I'm down to $170,000, after my car and everything." Aria explained casually as the other occupants of the booth stared in silence at her. Feeling eyes burning into her skull, she looked up from her plate, "What?"

Emily spoke first, "Oh my god that's a lot of money. What are you doing with it?"

"Well I figured I'd save it. If I don't get a scholarship, it's college money. If I do get a scholarship, its money for a house, a car, living expenses, travel, or whatever else I want to buy. Like a _book_ or lunch for my friends." Aria smiled and continued eating her salad.

After a few more minutes of awkwardness, they were all eating and chatting again, like their previous conversation never happened.

The rest of their trip went by quickly and they went back to the school so everyone could get their cars and go home. Aria noticed Ezra's car still in the parking lot, placed her shopping bags in her car, and went inside to find him. As she approached his classroom, she heard his voice and a female voice coming from inside. She didn't want to interrupt, until she heard her name. She wasn't sure who it was he was talking to, but she knocked and entered the room, pretending as if she didn't hear anything.

"Miss Montgomery, we were just talking about you. Why don't you join us?" Mrs. Glossenger, her Senior English teacher motioned Aria toward a chair.

Aria half smiled, "Thank you."

Mrs. Glossenger continued, "We were discussing the paper you brought here to have Mr. Fitz read over. I just want to tell you, that I was not being unfair to your writing in any way. You are good, Aria. There is no denying that. That paper got the grade it deserved. We were just discussing your essay for the scholarship contest. That was one of the most important essays that you will ever write. If you get the scholarship, it could open so many doors for you that you never would have thought about before. Mr. Fitz and I are both here to help you in any way we can. Here's my number. You can call me any time after school if you need guidance or ideas or even just a pep talk. I have faith in you."

"Thank you. It's nice to have support from you. From both of you. I need a little encouragement sometimes." Aria responded truthfully.

Ezra smiled, "Of course. Did you look at the topics I gave you to consider for your final?"

"I did. I just don't know about any of them." Aria shrugged.

Just then Mrs. Glossenger's cell phone rang and she read over a text message quickly, "Oh I have to go. Are you all set for your midterm tomorrow?"

"Yes," Aria smiled and nodded, "I think I am."

"Excellent. See you in the morning." She exited the room quickly and they heard her heels click all the way down the hall.

Ezra's stood and closed the distance between them. He wrapped his arms around Aria's waist and kissed her lightly, "How did it go today?"

"Good. Can I come by later?" Aria wondered, as if she needed to ask.

Ezra smiled, "Why not just come over now?"

"Actually, why don't you come to my house for dinner? Mom will be pleased and it will give my dad a chance to see you aren't a total jerk. We can go over everything we have set up so far. By the way, did you call the restaurant?"

Ezra nuzzled his face into her neck, "Of course I did. They have a small room that they normally use for conference lunches that they will turn into a reception area for us and for a small additional fee, they will provide a DJ."

"Great. What time?" Aria wondered pulling out her little notepad to write on. She didn't want to forget any details.

He shrugged, "Well I wasn't sure exactly what time we wanted to do the wedding, so I told her at the earliest three o'clock. I figured we would discuss it with the pastor. I will call him tonight. I told her I would call back with a definite time as soon as I speak with him."

"Ok. That's good. We need to see if they will prepare a cake as well. So you can ask about that when you call back." Aria instructed.

He hummed against her shoulder, "Chocolate cake with raspberry filling and white icing."

"Exactly." Aria smiled; happy he remembered her favorite cake.

Ezra gazed into his fiancé's eyes, "Already done."

Aria couldn't believe her ears, "You already ordered the cake? What if I had wanted orange cake with peanut butter icing?"

"Well I know you better than that. Besides, we didn't talk about it last night, so when they asked if I wanted to order a cake, I went ahead and did it. They won't start making it until Thursday so if we decided to change it we would have time. So if you really have your heart set on an orange and peanut butter cake, I'll just call them back." Ezra pulled out his phone and mock-dialed.

Aria took the phone from his hand, flipped it closed, and slid it back into his pocket, "I think I'll survive the disappointment." She then pulled out her phone and called her mother. "Mom, I'd like it if Ezra came over for dinner. We can all sit down and talk about everything we've done so far and what still needs to be done, ok? Great. We'll be there soon. Love you. Bye." She closed her phone and turned back to Ezra, "Ready to go?"

"Sure. Let me just grab a few things." He returned to his desk and slid a few things into his shoulder bag. He refused to carry a briefcase because he thought it made him seem old. He slid Aria's paper into his bag last, "I have to tell you. Even if you weren't going to be Mrs. Fitz in a few days, you'd still be the most talented young writer I've ever encountered. It was so nice to be able to read over something you wrote again. I needed a break from the papers I actually have to read." They walked to the parking lot together and Ezra walked her to her car. He glanced in the backseat, "Wow. Did you buy out the mall today?"

Aria giggled, "It's not that much stuff."

"If you say so. So I am going to run into town quick to pick up a bottle of wine to go with dinner, and run home to shower and change, and I will be right over. Sound good?" Ezra suggested.

Aria nodded, "Absolutely. I will see you then." She squeezed his waist quickly before getting into her car and heading out. She arrived at her house alone and her mother asked where Ezra was. "He was going to stop by his house for a few minutes and then pick up a bottle of wine to bring over to go with dinner."

"What did you buy?" Ella wondered, eyeing all the bags.

Aria set everything on the floor near the wall except for one bag she brought over to her mother, "Wedding stuff. Favors for the guests, invitations, and I got this for Ezra." She handed her mother the bag.

After opening the box and peeling back the tissue paper, Ella gasped, "Oh my goodness gracious. Is this a first edition?"

"Yes. It's his favorite book. I saw it in that old bookstore and knew this was the first gift I wanted to give my husband." Aria explained and rewrapped the book so she could take it upstairs before Ezra arrived.

As she returned to the kitchen her mother was beginning to prepare dinner. Aria washed her hands and started chopping potatoes, "What are we making for dinner anyway?"

"Boiled dinner. I didn't know we were going to have company or I would have made something different, but the ham has already been cooking most of the day." Ella replied as she was slicing the carrots.

Aria chuckled, "Boiled dinner is fine. We all like it and I'm pretty sure he does too. And if he doesn't he's too polite to say so."

"Aria, I think we should talk about all this again. I'm having second thoughts." Her mother was trying to be supportive, but she needed to have a one-on-one discussion with her daughter.

Aria gasped, "Mom, what are you talking about?"

"This is all happening so fast. You are just a teenager and he's an adult. I may be okay with the relationship for what it is, but I'm not sure that I'm comfortable with the two of you progressing into something more." Ella had finished the carrots and was working on the onions, making her tear even more than she already was.

Her daughter stood there, stunned, "You were the one who brought up marriage in the first place and I know it may seem quick to you, but Ezra and I are in love and we have been for quite some time. This day was coming whether now or in one year or five years. We are meant to be together."

"You may think that now, but there is going to come a time when you will wish you weren't married and had a normal life. You are going to regret making this decision because I had to open my big mouth, because I had memories of my past flooding back over me and I would have given anything to have my professor look at me the way Ezra looks at you. I envied you and when I saw that you had the chance to be happy, I brought up the idea, so I could be happy through you, but it's not enough."

"I'm going to marry him. Our lives are joined. I don't care what your original motives were. This isn't some fling. I love him. He loves me. I know that I will never regret marrying him. I know that no matter how hard anyone tries to come between us, it won't work because if you hadn't noticed, we've beaten the odds a thousand times. We both knew the risks and knew that the other was worth fighting for. I want to know that I have your support. Because even though you may not like it, it will happen. So is it better to put your relationship with me on the line because you were hurt in the past, or just accept that I have chosen my life and I am happy." Aria wanted her mother behind her, but she needed Ezra in her life.

Ella was still crying, "But you are so young. There's such an age difference."

"Please don't play the 'age difference' card. It's only eight years. If I was 22 and he was 30 would this be such a big deal? Besides, Dad is seven years older than you. How big of a difference can one year make? I mean, I know Dad wasn't… oh my… You think Ezra is going to do to me what Dad did to you, don't you?" Aria finally figured out why her mother was upset.

Her mother didn't speak for a few very long minutes, "I just want you to be prepared for something like that to happen. Men in general are unfaithful. He was interested in you and there will be others. He may just flirt a little, no harm done, right? But it may go further than that and then you'll be as heartbroken as I was."

"Mom, you either need to forgive Dad, or get away from him. Because if you had forgiven him like you said, this wouldn't come into our conversation. Mom, Ezra didn't fall in love with his English student. He fell in love with Aria, that cute girl he met at a bar. I'm not worried about him and other girls." Aria added the last part, which she and her mother had never discussed.

"You met at a bar? You never told me where you met." Ella wasn't sure why her daughter was in a bar.

Aria didn't care that her mother found out, "Yeah. I took Mike to lacrosse try-outs and went into that bar over there near the field to have a beer. I guess I was still so used to living in Iceland where underage drinking is normal. When Ezra saw me with a beer, there is no way he could have even guessed I'd be his student."

"Well I see now why you came off as older. Why on earth didn't you tell him how old you were?"

Aria gave her mother a confused look, "Because I was underage and drinking in a bar. Why on earth would I have told him? I mean if it had come to that point where it was imperative he know, I would have told him my age before things went too far. And frankly, he had graduated from Hollis and was going to teach. I didn't know if I was ever going to see him again. My age wasn't important."

"I still don't trust him." Ella sighed, trying to get her daughter to see reason.

Aria shook her head, "You wouldn't understand what real love is. Ezra and I aren't forced to be together. And there's no baby forcing us to get married."

Ella pretended to play coy, "What are you talking about? I know you aren't pregnant."

"I'm talking about you. You had me six months after you and Dad got married and I was a very healthy 7 pound 2 ounce baby. Even if you had gotten pregnant on your honeymoon, I would have only been about 2 pounds at the most at six months. I know that you married Dad because you were pregnant. Dad always said you hadn't known each other very long before you got married. So how long was it? Six or seven months?" Aria was mad at her mom. She had been supportive up until now and she decided to pull the plug.

Ella slammed her fist down, "It was five weeks! We knew each other five weeks when I got pregnant and our families insisted we get married. I had you and then I had Mike and it is what it is. I just don't want you to feel pressured into getting married because we're moving. I'm sure one of your friends will let you stay with them until you graduate. Then you can go off to college and be done with this."

"For the last time, I'm marrying Ezra on Saturday. I'm not being forced into anything. If anything I thought I'd have to run away to be with him. Why do you think I've been looking at colleges away from here? You know I love the Atlantic. I want your support and understanding, but I can't live without Ezra in my life." Aria stated finally. She didn't want to discuss it anymore.

"If you are sure that this is what _you _want and you're not getting any pressure from anyone, then I'm done standing in your way, but please just think things over before you do this. If you decide that now isn't the right time and he really does love you, he will understand and he will wait. I know he's a nice guy. I know he'd be great for you. I just wish things were different." Ella's tears had dried and she now seemed disconnected in a way that Aria had seen only one other time. The time between finding out Byron had an affair and the time she moved out. There was no anger, just acceptance and detachment.

Aria put a hand around her mother's waist and leaned against her shoulder, "I love you Mom. Please believe me that I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't a hundred percent certain that this is what I wanted. I wish things could have been different too, as far as the circumstances surrounding our relationship, and I know that we went about things all wrong, but I know that my life belongs with his. Know that I am so happy that you will be there on the day I marry the love of my life."

"Ok. I think this conversation is over. Believe me when I say I'm not against the two of you and I want you to be happy, but this conversation needed to happen." Ella began her preparations on dinner again, completely dismissing the whole conversation.

Aria hugged her mother once more before heading for her room, "Thank you so much for caring about me. I don't say this enough, but I appreciate everything you've done for me." Aria left her mother in the kitchen and went to her room to freshen up before Ezra arrived.

**Thanks for reading everyone. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review! I love knowing what everyone thinks. **

**Also, this is the last chapter I have fully written so the updates may be coming a little slower now. Especially since my sister just got married yesterday and we had so much wedding stuff going on that I haven't had much time to write. Thank you all for understanding!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the reviews: SolitudeMyLove, Cricket1106, Mackenzie- don't worry about my thought process in later chapters, I won't dissappoint, Marieeeex3, .dreamers, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, Bailey, katieeeeexx, iamashleydawn- I fixed that sentence. I have a weird way of editing and it didn't get edited before I posted it. It sounds better now, lizabeth, CaryoO, bebailz123, Gertrude  
**

**This is a shorter chapter. It seemed like a good chapter end point. Hope you enjoy!**

An hour later, Aria and her family were having an enjoyable dinner with Ezra. Her dad seemed to have opened up a little when he realized that English wasn't Ezra's only passion and Ella seemed to block out the conversation from earlier. Noticing that their dinner may turn into a live version of a History Channel marathon, Ella stepped in, interrupting the guys' discussion on the civil war, "Aria, what have you planned for Saturday so far? What did you buy today?"

Aria was quick to jump at anything non-educational at the moment, "We decided to have the reception at this restaurant not too far from the church. We have the cake ordered. Well he ordered it, so it's not my fault if it's bad. I ordered the bouquets today so they will be ready on Saturday morning. The girls and I bought the wedding favors and invitations today. There's no time to mail them so they will just be hand delivered. Did you guys decide if there was anyone you wanted to invite?"

"No," Byron replied first, "we decided that it's your wedding and we should keep it to just a few close people. The less people that know, the better."

Aria looked disgusted, "Are you trying to hide my marriage?"

"For now, yes. I mean the principal may be okay with it, but you know that he said you have to keep this very discreet still. So the less people that are there, the fewer people we have to trust to keep this a secret until then." Byron explained.

She was sure her father really meant that he didn't want the wedding to happen at all, but she didn't care, "All right. Good point. Okay so our guest list stands at 16, including us."

"Who all are you inviting sweetie?" Her mother wondered after having a very large gulp of the red wine Ezra had provided.

Aria chuckled to herself. Her mother was a lightweight when it came to alcohol, "Well there's the five of us, Ezra's mother and brother, his brother's date, Jason Reed and his wife, and the girls and their dates."

"And they can all be trusted?" Mike snickered in the corner. He didn't mind that his sister was marrying the English teacher, but he picked on her every chance he got.

She nodded, "I know that my girls and their dates can be trusted. Ezra knows his friends and family better than anyone and swears they wouldn't tell, and I don't think you will say much since you don't want anyone there to begin with."

"That sounds good." Her mother slurred a little and topped her glass off with more wine. No one seemed to pick up on the hint of anger in Aria's voice and if they did, they didn't acknowledge it. Ella stood from the table, full glass of wine in hand, "I think I'm going to bed. Aria, will you clean up the kitchen, and Byron, will you help me up the stairs?"

Byron chuckled as he stood and spoke quietly to Ezra, "Please go stand over by the wall and be prepared to catch." Ezra did as he was told and Byron turned back to his wife, "Sweetie, you can't take that wine upstairs with you. You'll get a stain on the carpet."

"Fine." Ella chugged the wine and flung the empty glass behind her, right into Ezra's hands, "O-pa!"

Her husband walked around the table and guided a very tipsy Ella out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Aria turned to Mike, "Did you want me to look over your paper for English before tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'll leave it on your desk." Mike excused himself from the table and raced up to his room. After some shuffling sounds and music coming from upstairs, Aria and Ezra guessed they were alone for the remainder of the evening.

Aria looked at her future husband, "Are you still eating or are you finished?"

"I'm done. I'm very full actually. That was very good," he commented as he began helping Aria clear the table.

She smiled as she dug out the storage containers, "I'm glad you like it. It's unusual but it's one of my favorite things to eat. Give me two days and these leftovers with be gone."

"So it seems like I missed something. You were angry before." He always picked up on her mood changes, no matter how slight.

She shrugged, "It's nothing. Just another talk about how I don't have to do this and maybe it's not the best thing to be doing. Age difference, blah, blah, blah. I wish they'd just accept that I'm getting married."

"It's not that I like those conversations either, but most parents go through that feeling at one point or another. Our wedding is just so close that all these emotions and conversations are all happening very rapidly. I'm sure by the time the wedding rolls around everyone will be okay." Ezra always had a way of calming her down.

Aria and Ezra continued cleaning up the kitchen and doing the dishes in silence for the next twenty minutes until everything was taken care of. Aria sighed and looked around, not sure what to do next. Ezra had a suggestion, "I brought over some boxes like you asked. I wondered if you wanted to start packing up some stuff in your room."

"That sounds like a good idea. You go get the boxes and I'll meet you in my room." Aria gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and headed up the stairs to her parents room. She listened closely at the door and could hear her mother's light snores and what sounded like a basketball game on the television. She knocked quietly and heard her father answer, "Dad. Ezra and I are going to be in my room starting to pack some of my stuff, ok?"

"That's fine." Byron responded quickly. She could tell he was distracted by the game. She entered her room and looked around, wondering what to start with.

Ezra entered moments later, carrying an arm full of folded up boxes and a roll of packing tape, "I got a bunch of boxes, but I can get more if we need them. I called Pastor Harris while I was outside. You said you didn't mind, so we planned to have the wedding at 1:30. What do you think?"

"Sounds fine. That will give us plenty of time between the wedding and the dinner." Aria didn't care as long as she was marrying Ezra.

He smiled and gave her a loving hug, "What are we starting with?"

"I'm not sure. I'll want my clothes and some of this other stuff, but I know not everything will fit in your apartment." Aria didn't want to get rid of anything.

He laid the boxes on the floor and began assembling the first one to start packing, "I have a storage unit. So anything that doesn't go to the apartment can go there."

"I hadn't even thought about getting one of those. Good idea." She suddenly felt better. She knew it was just stuff, but it was her stuff and she didn't want to part with any of it yet. Not before she could properly go through everything and that would take more than a few days.

Ezra had assembled three boxes by the time Aria had snapped out of her thoughts, "So let's decide what needs to stay unpacked, some clothes, your computer, whatever else. Then we'll pack what's going to the apartment, and finish with what we will store. Sound like a plan?"

She nodded, "Sounds good." Aria spent the next half hour making a pile on her bed of everything she didn't want packed. Then she and Ezra began clearing out the clothes in her closet. He grabbed the garment bag containing her wedding dress first, "Wait. That stays in the closet. That doesn't get packed."

"Shouldn't it go on the bed then?" Ezra motioned to the pile that was already there.

She shook her head, "No. This is special. It can't get wrinkled."

"Oh wow. This is the dress. Can I see?" He toyed with the zipper on the side.

Aria shook her head violently, "No! You can't see it until Saturday."

"Aria. I was kidding. I know you want to do things as traditionally as possible." Ezra placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before delicately hanging the dress back up.

They finished the closet and began working on her walls and dresser tops. They chatted about nothing as they packed. Ezra approached her desk, but was stopped by Aria, "Give me a minute and we'll go through it together. There's a lot of stuff in there I can just toss."

After she finished with her dresser top, she sat at her desk chair as Ezra made himself comfortable on the floor next to her. She began pulling papers out of the first drawer and after flipping through a stack and pulling out a few here and there, she discarded the rest into her trash can. Ezra picked them up and leafed through them, "I can't believe you are getting rid of all these."

"They are just ideas I had for stories that never went anywhere. I used to have a million stories in my head, and after a few chapters, I knew if it would be worth it to continue that story or not. These just don't make the cut." She rejected another large stack.

Ezra sighed, "Do you have any that went further than a few chapters?"

"Sure. I have quite a few that I still work on." Aria replied absently. She was reading over something she'd pulled off of her desk.

Ezra smiled and began flipping through some of the stories she was throwing out, "I'd like to read them some time."

"Mmmhmm," was the only response she gave him as she had taken a red pen to whatever she had previously been reading.

Fifteen minutes of silence later, Aria suddenly stood, causing Ezra to jump, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" Aria tossed her red pen in the nearest box.

Ezra shrugged, "You startled me."

"Sorry. Be right back." Aria exited the room and slipped whatever she was working on under the door across the hallway from her and knocked on the door. She then returned to her sorting.

"What was that?" Ezra wondered, noticing the edge of the paper disappear under the door.

She put another couple of papers in the keep pile and tossed the rest, "Mike's English paper. He's not a bad writer, but he needs a little help sometimes, so I go over it for him. I figured I should return it before it got thrown away."

"That's nice of you. Does he appreciate the help?" Ezra was still reading Aria's discards.

Aria nodded, "I think so. He'd never say it though."

It took Aria nearly as long to sort out her desk as it had taken for the rest of the room up to that point. It wasn't just stories as Ezra quickly learned. It contained report cards, art projects, poetry, and odds and ends one would usually find in a junk drawer. Aria looked around and sighed. She hadn't seen her room this bare since she had moved back to Rosewood. She picked up the black marker she had left unpacked and began writing on each of the boxes a brief summary of what was inside them, before giving Ezra the ok to tape them shut.

She went over to her bed and put the clothes back in the closet that she hadn't packed. She laid her laptop on her now empty desk and cleared off the rest of the knickknacks so her bed was free of obstructions. She flopped face down on the bed and when Ezra was done with his task, he laid down next to her. Having only a single bed it was difficult for them both to lay comfortably, but Aria didn't have any issue with the lack of room . She knew that soon she'd be sleeping in Ezra's bed. No, not Ezra's bed, _their _bed.

"What are you thinking about?" Ezra wondered as her traced circles on Aria's back. Aria mumbled into the pillow. Ezra didn't have a clue what she said, "Excuse me my dear, I speak English, not Mumblish."

She giggled and turned to face him, "I said I'm tired and I don't want you to go."

"I know. I'm exhausted. We've had a long few days." Ezra sat up, as if just realizing laying down wasn't the best idea being as tired as he was.

Aria shifted so she was laying on her back, "Physically, I'm fine. I could keep going for hours, but mentally, emotionally, I'm drained. I have nothing else to offer. And I have midterms tomorrow. Yippee."

"You'll do fine. I'm confident in your abilities." Ezra grinned down at his future wife, as if to say he was proud of her.

She stood, went around to the other side of the bed, and made herself comfortable on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and she could feel herself being drawn closer to him by his strong arms, "I love you so much. I think I may burst from emotional overload."

"I'm right there with you." Ezra and Aria had both reached their limit for stimulating conversation.

Aria was content to just stay right there in his arms and drift off to sleep, but she knew that it was time for him to go home, "I need to go to bed, and so do you."

Ezra stood and set Aria lightly on her feet, "Walk me to the door?"

"Yes." Aria took Ezra's hand and they walked all the way to the front door that way. "Are you sure you can't stay?" Aria teased.

He smiled and traced her jaw line with his finger, "You know I'd love to stay in your arms all night, but I think that may be an issue for some other people. We have the rest of our lives after Saturday to be together. I've been meaning to ask you, do you want to go somewhere nice Saturday night, or do you just want to go home after the wedding?"

"Whatever you want. As long as you are happy, I am happy." Aria giggled. Her tired mind was beginning to get to her.

Ezra pulled her into a tight embrace, "I thought about booking a honeymoon suite somewhere in the city. We could stay until Monday morning. I was thinking if you didn't already have plans, we could do a real honeymoon during spring break."

"That sounds nice. I don't care where I am. As long as it's with you, I don't care where I go. So you plan it and tell me what to pack and I'm there." Aria had traveled all over the world, so wherever Ezra planned to take her would be fine.

He stepped back and kissed her tenderly, "I will see you tomorrow. You get some rest. I love you."

"I love you too. Good night." Aria opened the front door and pushed him gently out into the night.

He looked like a teenage boy when he looked back at her, "Good night sweetheart. Sweet dreams." Aria watched him walk to his car, then quietly closed the door and barely made it to her bed before she was asleep.

**So like I said, it was short, but I hope you enjoyed it. Please Review! Your reviews are like my crack and energy drink wrapped up in one!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Holy crap! I've had one of those days! I turned on my computer this morning and all I got was an error! It wouldn't let me do anything. Not safe mode. Nothing! I freaked out! I had to run some errands so I left and came back to work on it. It was a simple fix, but I though I lost everything I've been working on. AAHHH! Okay, just needed to vent.**

**Thanks to my reviewers: AddictedtoFICS, SolitudeMyLove, Cricket1106, Bailey, lisabeth (btw, I hate Jackie too and she will not be making any sort of appearance in my story), Cary, bebailz123, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, Sarah Anne, ZoeyActress. You guys are amazing! I hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

Aria slept like a rock and after her alarm blared for 15 minutes, Mike finally shook his sister awake, "Not that I care, but I have midterms today. So you need to get up and take me to school."

She blinked and stretched, "What time is it?"

Mike glanced at the clock, "It is 7:38 so we have 22 minutes to get to school."

"What?" Aria clambered out of bed and dashed to her closet, "I can't believe I didn't hear my alarm. I don't even have time for a shower. Urgh. All right I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes, okay?" Mike shrugged and left the room. Aria sent a quick text message to Emily while she was waiting for the water in the sink to get warm. 'Can you grab me caffeine and meet me in homeroom? Running really late this morning.'

Aria quickly washed her face, brushed her hair and teeth, and grabbed her makeup bag. She figured she could put her makeup on after first period. She slipped on some fresh clothes and her comfortable flats. She met Mike by the front door, "Ready?"

"Yeah." Mike opened the door and exited the house leaving his sister to follow.

Aria was glad there were no cops because she would have almost certainly got a ticket, "We made it." Aria glanced at the clock and had four minutes to spare.

"And Barely alive." Mike teased and jogged to meet up with a friend that was just getting there.

She climbed out of the car and hurried into the school. She skipped going to her locker and went straight to homeroom, were Emily was waiting with an extra large caramel latte. "Em you are a lifesaver."

"Well now you owe me an explanation of why you are so tired." Both girls took their seats as the bell rang.

Aria shrugged, "There's no real reason. I didn't go to bed too late or anything. I'm just emotionally drained, I think. Everything is so fast and my parents are all over the place. First my mom was supportive, now she's telling me not to get married and to see if I can stay will one of you and my dad is actually starting to get along with Ezra. Then packing up my room last night was just hard. I mean that was inevitable. I had to pack and move no matter where I was going to end up, but everything all at once is overwhelming."

"Aria, you know if you're not sure, you can stay with me. We have Carolyn's old room and my mom really likes you. If there is any doubt about this, you can wait. I know he'd understand." Emily gave Aria a comforting hug.

She shook her head, "No. I want this. I've always wanted Ezra, I'm just on overload. I'm sure after this week, everything will be better."

Emily turned her attention to the morning announcements, but knew she heard a bit on unease in her friend's voice. She knew there was a lot going on in Aria's head that she wasn't sharing. She just made sure her friend knew she was there for her and, after the bell rang, they parted ways to go to first period.

Aria stopped to her locker to drop of her jacket and purse before heading to take her English midterm. Mrs. Glossenger gave her a reassuring smile as she approached her desk. "Are you excited for tomorrow?"

"What's tomorrow?" Aria's heartbeat increased, thinking maybe Ezra had told her about their plans, even though Aria was sure they weren't close friends or anything.

Mrs. Glossenger gave Aria a knowing grin, "You can't hide your excitement. The winners for the writing scholarship are announced tomorrow. I can see in your face you are just being modest. Probably just trying to keep your nerves under wraps. It came at such a bad time with midterms, but I know you'll do well."

Aria thanked her and took her seat amongst the rest of the class. She wasn't sure how she managed to forget about the scholarship, but after thinking for a minute, it was obvious why she forgot. But this would be the biggest day of her life if she won the scholarship, at least until Saturday. She was still revising her week in her head while the teacher was going over the midterm.

Aria snapped back to reality, realizing this was fifteen percent of her grade and even though she could have taken a zero on it and still passed, she wanted to ace the class. Ten minutes into the midterm and her nerves evened out and she concentrated on the task at hand. By the end of the class, Aria felt confident she did brilliantly on the midterm. She then headed for French class for the midterm she was fairly certain she'd do well on also. As soon as the class let out, she headed for Ezra's classroom on the way to Trigonometry. The room was empty other than Ezra when she arrived, "Hey."

"Hey yourself," he responded while finishing what he was writing. He finally looked up at her, "Hey wow. You are absolutely stunning today. Not that you aren't everyday, but there is something different today."

Aria's hands flew to her face, "Oh my gosh I forgot to put my makeup on."

He stood and pulled his fiancé's hands away from her face, "I don't care what you think. You look better without it."

"Really?" Aria had never had anyone say that to her before, but then again, she had never been around anyone but her family and closest friends without makeup on in years.

He smiled so brightly she knew he was telling the truth, "Of course. I'm telling you now, you could never wear makeup again and I'd be happy."

Aria backed away as she heard students approaching the classroom, "So Mrs. Glossenger so kindly reminded me that the winners for the scholarship will be announced tomorrow, and I completely forgot. I've had other things on my mind."

Judging by the look on Ezra's face, it had slipped his mind as well, "Well, I'm sure there is nothing to worry about."

"It's a national contest Mr. Fitz. There's no way I'm that good." Aria almost never used Ezra's name in the school setting anymore after slipping up so many times.

He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which is as much contact as he had ever allowed himself to have with any student, aside from Aria. There were so many rules and he was afraid someone was watching his every move, due to being paranoid about his relationship with Aria. "You are going to do fine. I have no doubt that you are a very talented writer and even if this doesn't work out, you'll have a lot of possibilities in your future."

"Thank you, Mr. Fitz. I have to get to class." Aria left before she started crying. She knew her parents had high hopes for her, but to have someone believe so strongly in her and to be that vocal about it, it was definitely a moral booster and the pick-me-up she needed to get through the rest of the day.

At four o'clock, Ezra stopped at Aria's house to pick her up and headed to the city hall to apply for their marriage license. They didn't say much on the short drive there. They entered quickly to avoid as many eyes as possible and approached the clerk at the desk, "Hi there. How can I help you today?"

"We're here to apply for a wedding license." Aria answered politely.

The clerk smiled, "Absolutely. I'm going to give you this form to fill out and you'll need everything listed there for the application to be valid. If you have any questions feel free to ask."

"Thank you." Aria and Ezra sat down and began filling the form out together. Aria filled out the application because Ezra's handwriting was definitely lacking. Aria filled out everything she knew first, then asked him for the remaining information. As soon as they were done, they approached the clerk again, "All set."

"Excellent. Now if you go down this hallway," she motioned toward the right, "and go through the last door on your left, Judge Mason is in there and he will authorize the application for you."

The couple thanked her again and went to find the judge. They knocked and entered as instructed, "Judge Mason?"

"Yes. Come right in. Ah, you two must be getting married." He smiled at the happy couple.

Ezra beamed, "Yes sir. We are. Saturday actually, so we really need to get moving on our application."

They approached the Judge's desk, "Why the sudden rush?" He didn't seem like he was judging, just making conversation.

"Well it's a long story. I'm currently living with my family and have only a few months left of school. My family is moving to New York and I want to stay here, but my parents don't approve of living together before you're married, so we're getting married." Aria explained quickly.

The judge looked at them skeptically, "That's not the best reason to get married."

"Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that. We've been together a year and a half. We love each other. We were going to get married this summer anyway. We are just moving up the date is all." Aria elaborated. The summer wedding was a bit of a stretch, but they would be getting married eventually.

Judge Mason smiled, "That's nice. If I may say so, I've been doing this a long time and I can always tell when a couple has that special something to make it." He paused, "You've got it. You have too much maybe. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it may prevent you from seeing things as clearly as you should. I have no doubt your marriage will last, but just take a step back every once in a while and look at big picture and you will do fine." He then told them they could pick up the license on Friday.

Ezra and Aria glanced at each other, thanked him, and left. Once back in the car headed toward Ezra's, he spoke. "What do you think he meant about too much love?"

She wasn't sure, but she had a pretty good idea, "Maybe he means that we may be single minded as far as our relationship goes and to just make time for ourselves too, or something."

"You are so smart. I had that idea in my head but I couldn't figure out how to explain it. It made sense to me though." Ezra placed his hand on her thigh and just let it rest there until they arrived at his building. He held her hand until they reached his apartment and he had to play with the handle to get the door to unlock. "I'll get that fixed soon. I don't know why it started sticking lately." He led her inside and they got comfortable on the couch, deciding one more romantic movie night was in order before the big day.

He sat down next to her and she laid her legs across his lap, "Do you ever think about getting a bigger place?"

"Well before, it was just me. Well not just me, but you only stayed here a few times. Now we don't even know if we're going to be staying here so you can go to University of PA, or going to Cornell, Princeton, Columbia, Duke, or Brown. Did I get them all?"

She was impressed he named off everywhere she applied, "Yeah. You remembered them all."

He smiled and continued, "So there's no point in looking for something bigger until we know that, right?" Ezra spoke about their future together so easily.

Aria shrugged, "I wasn't really suggesting we look for a bigger place, just asking if you had ever thought about it."

"Not until the thought of you moving in became a possibility. Then I thought about it." He explained, playing with Aria's belly button.

Aria grabbed the remote and stopped the movie, "We're not really watching this anyway and we should talk. Where do you want to go after this? After I graduate?"

"Whichever school you chose, I'll go with you."

She shook her head, "That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking if you had to pick one that you like the best, which would you choose?"

"Hmm," he hummed, "I'm not sure. I mean I like it here, but there's nothing holding me. Duke would be closer to the beaches, Princeton is a nice town, Cornell we'd be close to your parents, Columbia is in the city so we'd always have something to do, and Brown is, I don't know, brown I guess."

She giggled, "So it looks like Brown is last on the list but I couldn't seem to distinguish your favorite."

"I don't have a favorite. There are good and bad things for each of them, but I want to go wherever you think is the best for your education. I'm adaptable." Ezra pulled Aria closer and began kissing the side of her neck.

She was so happy that he was willing to go wherever for her. She began daydreaming about their life together when a knock on the door startled her. She shifted and started the movie again as Ezra got up to answer the door. A minute later, he moved back so the elementary school gym teacher could enter. "This must be the lovely Aria." He pulled her off the couch and into a friendly hug.

"Yes. This is Aria and this is my friend Jason. He stopped by for a few minutes, hoping he'd be able to meet you before the wedding rehearsal." Ezra explained and placed himself next to Aria with a hand resting on her waist.

Aria smiled warmly, "It's nice to meet you. Ezra talks about you a lot."

"I bet he does. Has he ever told you how he can never beat me in a basketball game?" Jason boasted.

Aria cocked her head and gave Jason a sarcastic look, "And it makes no difference that you teach gym class while Ezra was busy getting an actual education?"

"Man, Ezra, you got a spunky one on your hands. Are you sure you can handle her?" Jason nudged his friend in the ribs.

Ezra nodded, tightening his grip around his fiancé's waist, "I have it completely under control. Why don't you and I talk more tomorrow? Aria and I were in the middle of a movie."

"Oh, a movie, huh? I get it. Alright, well I'll leave you to your 'movie' now? You better call me tomorrow." Jason waved and let himself out.

Aria didn't realize how hard Ezra had a hold of her waist, "Honey, you're hurting me." He immediately let go and began apologizing like he'd just ran her over. Aria interrupted, "Hey, I'm fine. Are you okay though? What was that all about?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. He's just quite a flirt and before I had never felt the need to be threatened but when he started in on you I wanted to make sure he knew you were off limits: period." Ezra explained with a certain huskiness in his voice that Aria found intriguing.

She placed a kiss on his cheek and met his eyes, "I think he got the point. It's kind of hot that you are so possessive of me. You are not a man to be challenged."

"And neither are you, my dear. I could not believe that you insulted him like that and he didn't catch on. He thought you were messing with him." Ezra sat on the couch and pulled Aria onto his lap. He began kissing her lightly, but the kisses intensified as the minutes passed. They had both discarded their shirts and were beginning to undo pants.

Aria didn't want to stop, but they knew they had to. With a sigh and small groan, she pulled away from Ezra's soft lips, "Can't we just elope so this stops happening?"

He chuckled into the side of her neck, "The wedding license isn't good until Saturday."

"I know. We should probably take a step back and chill for a few minutes." Aria stood and looked around for her shirt, which had mysteriously disappeared. She made Ezra get up and look but neither could find it.

He shrugged, "I don't know what happened to it. I don't think I did anything with it."

"I don't know, but I can't just hang out here in my bra. I'm freezing now that I'm not sitting next to you." She shivered.

He walked over and wrapped his arms around her, "Give me a minute. I will turn the heat up and get you a shirt to wear." He reluctantly let her go and retreated to his bedroom. He returned carrying two shirts. He handed one to Aria and slipped the other over his head. "You know, I'm glad you're moving in or I'd run out of clothes soon."

"Yeah, I like your smell." As soon as Aria said that, she turned a bright shade of red and sank onto the couch.

Ezra arched an eyebrow and sat next to her, "My smell?"

"Yeah, I meant I like smelling your cologne when I'm falling asleep. It's comforting. It makes me feel like you are close." Aria snuggled into Ezra's waiting arms.

He stroked her hair and inhaled the sweet smell of her shampoo, "I know exactly what you mean. But just think, only three more nights alone, and then together forever."

Aria looked at the clock and stretched, "I probably should go home. I have to print out the invitations so we can deliver them tomorrow and I want to go to bed a little earlier tonight."

"Okay. Let me put my shoes on and I'll take you home." He kissed her quickly and reached under the edge of the couch to get his shoes and pulled out a grey wad of fabric, "Hey I found your shirt."

She waved a dismissive hand, "Just keep it here. It'll be home in a few days anyway."

Ezra was standing by the door by the time Aria had gotten her shoes on and led him into the hallway. Again he held her hand all the way to the car and held her door open like a gentleman. They chatted about invitation wording on the drive over and knowing Aria had things to do, he didn't follow her when she got out of the car.

Aria walked around to his side of the car and leaned down, "Do I at least get a kiss goodnight?"

"Yes ma'am. Hey," he spotted the necklace, "there's your ring. I was wondering why you weren't wearing it."

She winked, "It's closer to my heart this way."

"Poetic. So what are we going to do when we have wedding bands?" he wondered.

Aria played with her ring on the necklace, "Well, I figure I will wear mine right next to this one most of the time. You can wear yours on a necklace if you like. I mean, I'd like you to wear it on your hand, but if I can't you shouldn't have to. There would just be too many questions if I was suddenly wearing a wedding ring."

"Good point, but I'd be honored to wear your ring on my hand. I'm sure not many people will notice one on me anyway." He extended his neck and caught Aria's lips with his.

She smiled against his kiss, "I love you."

"I love you too." Ezra's kissed her hand, "I'll see you tomorrow." Again he watched to make sure she was in the house before leaving, hating the feeling of being alone even for the few nights that were left before starting their life together.

**So what did you all think? I hope you liked it. These last few chapters have been kind of fluffy, but there's some fun coming up. Excited for you to read it! I'll update in a few days. Please review! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**WOW! You guys are AMAZING! I got so many review. Thanks to: SolitudeMyLove, Brandi, jaceyb1, raybug, .dreamers, Cricket1106, Bailey, CrazyLove345, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, ZoeyActress, allthingstv242, VballBabe44, McKayla, AddictedtoFICS, katieeeeexx, lisabeth, sarah anne, ILoveJenn112, Arianna, Bebailz123**

Aria slept well that night and woke up feeling refreshed. She got off to school without a hitch and met up with the girls at her locker, "Morning ladies."

"Someone had a good night." Spencer teased with a grin.

Hanna bumped Aria with her hip, "Tell us all about it."

"There's nothing to tell," she giggled, "you know that I don't kiss and tell."

Emily nodded, "Yeah. And we know you only kiss anyway. So have you heard about the scholarship yet?"

In an instant, Aria stopped breathing and Spencer had to smack her on the back to get her to remember she needed oxygen. Why was it everyone remembered the scholarship but her? "I forgot."

"How could you forget?" Hanna inquired.

Aria shrugged, "I'm getting married in three days. I have a couple other things on my mind."

"Well aren't you going to go find out?" Spencer suggested.

She didn't need to be told again, "Yeah. I should go find out."

Just as she was heading for the library to use the computer, the bell rang and Aria and Emily walked to homeroom together. "Don't worry. I'm sure Mrs. Glossenger will know. Just ask her when you get to class."

Aria could barely sit still through homeroom and practically sprinted to first period English to find out about the scholarship. She was the first one there and stood nervously by Mrs. Glossenger's desk until she noticed Aria was there. "Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"Nervous." Aria replied, bouncing slightly on her heels.

Her teacher smiled and began playing with the computer, "I waited until you got here to check the results." After a few minutes the teacher began reading aloud the error message on the computer, "Due to a high volume of users this website is currently unavailable."

"Really? So now what?" Aria didn't know if she could go any longer without knowing.

Mrs. Glossenger sighed, "I guess we will just have to wait. Do you want to go to the library or something? We're not doing anything new in class until next week. I have a few make-up midterms to give and there's no point in you sitting here worrying."

"Can I just go walk the halls? I don't think I can sit still right now." Aria was very antsy.

Mrs. Glossenger scribbled something on a piece of paper, "Sure. I know how you feel. If anyone stops you, just show them that note. You don't have to come back at the end of class if you don't want to. I'll see you at the assembly later."

"Assembly?" Aria didn't know there was an assembly.

Her teacher chuckled and nodded, "Yes. It was on the morning announcements."

"Guess I missed it." Aria mumbled. She thanked her teacher and made her way out into the hallway. With no predetermined destination, Aria put her ear buds in and turned on her music. As she wandered the halls, she tried to keep her mind clear but there were so many distractions. Aria wasn't paying attention and nearly screamed when she was tapped on the shoulder. She turned to see Mr. Kline, one of the history teachers. "I'm sorry Mr. Kline. I didn't see you."

He smiled warmly, "That's alright. I saw you making laps around the hallway. They called you to the principal's office a few minutes ago. I figured I'd catch you on your next trip around."

"Oh, thank you." Aria removed her headphones and hurried to the office.

Principal Stevens sat at his desk when Aria arrived, "Aria. I'm glad you could make it. I was beginning to think you weren't here."

"I'm sorry sir. I was doing laps in the hallway. I had my headphones on and didn't even here the page." Aria explained quickly.

He motioned for her to take a seat, "I know. I called Mrs. Glossenger to see if you were busy and she said you were wandering. Nervous about the scholarship, huh?"

"You have no idea. I'm a bundle of nerves today." Aria was visibly shaky.

He nodded, "I can imagine. Plus, you've got a big weekend, right?"

"Yes sir." She had a feeling he wanted to talk about Ezra.

Principal Stevens sighed, "What did he tell you about our conversation the other night?"

"He told me that you weren't going to stand in our way or say anything to jeopardize our futures. You want us to remain a very distant relationship here in the school and be very discreet around town until after graduation." Aria went over everything Ezra had explained to her.

"That's pretty much the conversation in a nutshell. But I wanted to talk to you about it. I know I'm not close to either one of you, but I just need to be heard. I don't know what's happened between you or how long this has been going on, but this is inappropriate. I thought you were smarter than this."

Aria inhaled deeply, trying to remain calm, "Sir, Ezra and I haven't done anything. We've known each other since before he began teaching here. I didn't know who he was and he had no idea that I was going to be his student. We haven't done anything wrong."

"Well that's a matter of opinion." Principal Stevens retorted.

She stood up, trying to look a little more intimidating than she was feeling, but she refused to back down, "Sir. I'm not sure what you are trying to do here, but I find the double standards of you telling Ezra that this won't be a problem as long as we play by your rules and then giving me an attitude about this and judging me a little irritating. If you have something to say to me, please just say it."

"I think it's a bad idea for the two of you to get married. It's going to be harder than you realize." He didn't meet her gaze, afraid he'd say something worse.

Aria crossed her arms, "Sir, are you going to stop us from getting married?"

"No." he replied flatly.

"And are you going to go to the school board or the authorities if we do get married."

He took a little longer to answer this time, "No. I wouldn't do that. As much as I think of this as a catastrophe waiting to happen, I wouldn't ruin your lives."

"I don't think we should have a conversation about this again then. Do you sir?" Aria was still being respectful even though she wanted to throw something at him.

He sighed and shook his head, "Aria, please just don't do anything so I need to have a conversation like this again, ok?"

"Yes sir. Are we done?"

Principal Stevens nodded, "Yes. Thank you for coming."

Aria collected her bag in arms and walked briskly out of Principal Stevens' office. She was just in time for the bell to ring, signaling the end of first period. She made her way to her French class, where nothing of importance was going on. Aria asked to be excused to the library. She figured she'd go see if the website was working yet. She took the long way around so she could walk by Ezra's room. She was hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but when she approached the door, she saw the room was empty. She sighed and continued to the library.

She was pleasantly surprised when she entered and Ezra was in the library with his class. She didn't say anything to him and asked Mrs. Blackwell, the librarian, if she could use her computer, since the student computers were so slow. Mrs. Blackwell readily agreed and moved aside so Aria could take her seat in front of the computer. Since Aria was always in the library, reading or working on her own writing, she had developed a unique relationship with the older woman. She had many long conversations with her and Aria was allowed special privileges in the library that most students weren't, such as being allowed in the library alone and using Mrs. Blackwell's personal computer.

Aria quickly typed in the web address and, even though it was loading slowly, the website began to materialize in front of her eyes. She only waited a few more seconds before the link titled 'Click Here for Winners' became clickable. She took a deep breath and held it, afraid she'd hyperventilate otherwise and clicked the link.

**Ah, a very short chapter this time, but you gotta love the cliffhanger. Getting ready to travel for two weeks so updates may be sporatic. Sorry, but p****lease review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**You guys are amazing! This is the most reviews I've ever had for one chapter. Thanks so much: SolitudeMyLove, McKayla, allthingstv242, sia023, iBreakTradition, .dreamers, gawjus, Bailey, Lisabeth, Sarah Anne, ebailz123, mikhaila, vampirekisses1901, Arianna, Kate, SammySam, Anonymous, Ezria4evers, Jack, Ria, ErnayyAlissa, Leah, AddictedtoFICS, ZoeyActress, NativeBeachGirl!**

**Made it to my trip destination fine. It was a 24 hour trip. With a four hour nap break and quite a few pit stops after a large Mocha Frappe from McDonald's! Hope you like this chapter. It's a longer one. Had some time on my hands with all the travel time lol...**

She shrieked and her hands flew to cover her mouth. A few of the students in the library hurried over to see what had happened and Ezra finally saw Aria. He was afraid something was wrong until Mrs. Blackwell began shouting, "You won! Aria you won the scholarship!" Mrs. Blackwell was ecstatic and pulled Aria into a bear hug, which turned into a bizarre celebratory dance.

"I-I-I…" Aria couldn't come up with any words to portray how she felt. She just allowed herself to be swung around by the zany librarian.

Ezra stepped in seconds later as he noticed Aria getting wobbly and decided to intervene, "Congratulations Miss Montgomery."

"Thank you Mr. Fitz. I think I need to lie down." As soon as the words left her mouth, she fainted and fell into Ezra's arms.

He hoisted her up to cradle her in his arms, "Class, behave for Mrs. Blackwell. I'll be back shortly." He carried her all the way to the nurse and laid her down on one of the empty cots.

Ms. York hurried over, "What on earth happened here?"

"She fainted. She just got some exciting news about a scholarship and Mrs. Blackwell felt the need to swing her around. I think she's going to be okay." Ezra explained, trying to keep his emotions buried.

The nurse felt Aria's head, "She is a little clammy. Are you okay sitting with her for a few minutes so I can get a few things?"

Ezra nodded and the nurse exited the cubby area that the couple occupied. Ezra gently began stroking the side of Aria's face until she stirred, "Ezra?" He shushed her quietly and she looked around for the first time, "I'm sorry, Mr. Fitz. What happened?"

"You fainted." His voice was so gentle, but also contained a bit of humor.

Aria began to sit up, but instantly realized that was a mistake and slowly sank back onto the pillow, "I won the scholarship. I-wow."

"I know. I am so proud of you. I knew you could do it." Ezra whispered lovingly. He wanted nothing more than to pull Aria to him and show her how proud he was, but that was definitely against the rules.

Ms. York finally returned, breaking up the intense moment they were having, and giving them both a chance to breathe. "Thank you for helping me out. I can take it from here."

Giving Aria a final smile, he arose from her side and returned to his class. She turned to the nurse, "I'm very dizzy."

"It's ok. Just close your eyes and take some slow, deep breaths. I'm just going to put a cool washcloth on your forehead." Ms. York tended to her until she heard someone enter.

Aria could hear Spencer, Hanna, and Emily pleading with the nurse to see their friend. The nurse finally gave in, informing them if her patient got sick, they were cleaning it up. They approached Aria quietly, "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"Very lightheaded." Aria mumbled.

Spencer could barely contain herself, "You got the scholarship to UC Berkeley, Aria. How exciting is that?"

Aria felt numb suddenly, "What do you mean Berkeley?"

"The scholarship committee awarded you the scholarship to UC Berkeley. You had the top essay, so they offered you the top scholarship." Spencer explained.

Aria was very confused, "I thought it was for any of the Top Ten English program schools."

"They decided to do something different this year. There were a lot of problems in the past with the way they handed out the scholarships so…"

"I have to call them. I can't go to Berkeley. I never even applied there or anything." Aria sat up slowly. She had stabilized some and walked out to the nurse, "I am feeling better. May I go back to class?"

The nurse chuckled, "You are definitely one of a kind Aria. Most kids would stay here as long as possible to get out of class."

"I have things I need to do." Aria stated simply.

Ms. York nodded, "Sure. You can go, but if you start feeling faint again, come back and lie down, okay?"

Aria agreed and the girls hurried to the library. Ezra's class had departed before they arrived so at least it was quiet. Aria hoped the website was still up on the computer so she didn't have to wait for it to load again. Fortunately Mrs. Blackwell left the page up and Aria read more thoroughly into the award. There was a special number to call that was only for the recipients and Aria was quick to dial it.

"Yes. Aria Montgomery. Thank you. I have a problem with my award. I didn't even apply to Berkeley so the scholarship won't really do much good. Really? Well that's great but I wasn't… Yes. All right. I will. Thank you." Aria hung up from the brief conversation with a blank look on her face.

Hanna grabbed Aria's hand, "What's wrong, Hun?"

"They told me that Berkeley would be in touch within the next few days about my automatic acceptance. The university is offering me a full ride. The woman I spoke with said I can take a few days to think it over. If I decide Berkeley isn't for me, I can call to go over other options. I'm not sure what to do. I mean Berkeley obviously has the best English program in the country, but California isn't my style. And Ezra and I haven't even considered that as an option." Aria wasn't sure if he'd be excited or not.

There were students shuffling through the hallway and the girls realized they hadn't heard the first bell. They all split up to go to their respective classes and Aria had to practically sprint to get to her Trigonometry class on time. Unlike her other classes, they started a new lesson and Aria's brain just couldn't concentrate on anything that was going on. Luckily, the teacher never called on her and she was able to block out the entire lesson. As she exited the classroom, she began to feel faint again and knew she should get something in her stomach.

She made it as far as the lunch table before needing to sit down. It wasn't long before the girls joined her, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I'm too dizzy to get up right now." Aria didn't pick her head up off the table.

Doctor Spencer stepped in, "You need to eat something. I'll go get you some food for you." Spencer hopped up from the table and went to get her friend something substantial to eat.

She returned a few minutes later with a ham and cheese sandwich, an orange juice, and some celery and peanut butter. Aria lifted her head slightly, "That's an unusual lunch."

"Not if your blood sugar is low. You haven't eaten anything all day which isn't helping your dizziness any. Now eat." Since Spencer had started volunteering at the local clinic, the girls were always calling her Doctor Spencer because she seemed to have a medical opinion on everything.

Aria sat up very slowly and began sipping her juice. She was amazed that she did feel better fairly quickly. She ate the celery and peanut butter next, but paused at the sandwich, "I have to go get…"

"Mayo and regular chips? I was hoping you'd forget." Spencer handed Aria the mayonnaise packet and small bag of potato chips, prepared for Aria's reluctance to eat a plain sandwich.

After removing the top piece of bread, adding the condiment and chips, and replacing the bread, Aria took a crunchy, yet satisfying bite, "You know me too well Doc." She was pleased that the food did help and she was feeling normal by the end of lunch.

They made their way to the auditorium with the rest of the student body and settled into their usual seats, waiting for the assembly to start.

It was the same boring assembly that they always had, with the usual motivational speeches and the lack of attention from the students. No one cared because it meant no classes. Aria had been slouched in her seat, with her legs up over the back of the seat ahead of her, and writing in her notebook when she heard her name. She looked up as Principal Stevens was motioning her to the stage. She looked to her friends for a clue about what was going on, but didn't get anything more than a smile from any of them. She climbed the stairs to the stage and stood next to the principal as he made a speech about how proud he was of Aria's hard work and dedication. Aria spotted Ezra leaning against the back wall with a huge grin on his face and relaxed a little.

"So it is my honor to present a full ride scholarship for four years to the University of California at Berkeley." Principal Stevens handed her a computer generated certificate, she guessed as a prop for the assembly, and shook her hand. As Aria made her way off the stage, ignoring her standing ovation, she spotted Ezra again. He was no longer smiling and hadn't joined in with everyone else in their applause. He hadn't moved.

Aria was worried about what Ezra was thinking. After giving everything a minute to calm down, she turned back to look at him again, but he was gone. Aria told her friends she needed to go and quickly exited the auditorium. She didn't know where he had gone, but decided his classroom was the best place to look. She peeked in and saw Ezra with his feet propped up on his desk, leaning back in his chair, and tossing a ball into the air.

"Ezra." Aria whispered quietly as she entered.

He didn't throw the ball again, but he didn't look at her either, "Yes Miss Montgomery. How can I help you?"

She was stung by the formality in his voice. She closed the door and walked over to his desk, "What's wrong? Why did you leave?"

"Were you even going to tell me?" He finally met her eyes and she noticed they were wet. She'd never seen him cry, but she thought he might be about to.

"Tell you what?"

He set the ball down on his desk and moved his feet to the floor, "About Berkeley. When were you going to mention the scholarship was to Berkeley? After all of our talking about where to go after you graduate, and you never told me that you were considering Berkeley."

"Ezra, I wanted to talk to you about this. It just…" Aria began but Ezra cut her off.

"We've been so open with each other about everything and this one very important detail you decided to leave out. I'm not prepared to go to California. I've been researching jobs near the colleges we originally talked about. I'm not cut out for California." Ezra continued his rant, his voice increasing in volume every few sentences until he was practically yelling.

Aria stood up from the desktop where she had been perched and was getting ready to walk out. She didn't need this from him.

"Where are you going? We're trying to have a conversation and you're just going to walk out? That's mature." Ezra almost immediately regretted the last words out of his mouth. He regretted saying them even more when Aria's palm met his cheek with a great deal of velocity.

He rubbed it and was sure she had left a handprint, "Mr. Fitz," she spat, "I was planning on having a conversation with you after school, but I refuse to be your verbal punching bag. And for your information, I didn't know about Berkeley until an hour ago."

She threw the door open and marched into the hall. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she broke into a run and didn't stop until she reached her car. By the time she had gotten safely away from the school, she only made it another mile before she was crying so hard she could barely see. She knew that she would need to have another conversation with Ezra if they were going to fix things, so she calmed herself enough to make it to Ezra's apartment.

She let herself in and flopped down on the couch. The dizziness from earlier was returning so she decided the couch was where she would stay. It seemed like only moments later she was being shaken awake. "Aria. Honey, you fell asleep."

Aria slowly opened her eyes to look at Ezra, "What time is it?"

"It's almost five." He sat down next to her as she carefully pulled herself to a sitting position.

"Where have you been for two hours?" She rubbed her eyes as she woke up fully, thankful she was no longer dizzy.

Ezra stroked Aria's cheek and brushed a lock of hair from her face, "I've been looking for you."

"Why? So you could yell at me again?" Aria was still a little hurt from their encounter earlier.

He shook his head, "No. I wanted to apologize. I was just surprised about Berkeley and I was hurt by the possibility of you keeping secrets from me. We've always been honest with each other and I guess I felt a little betrayed. I know this is no excuse, but I'm just a bundle of emotion this week and I say stupid shit."

Aria sighed, "Mr. Fitz, you have a handprint on your face."

"Yeah, I do." He ran his fingers over the welt, "I was a real jerk and my fiancé slapped me."

She smiled, "Looks like it hurts. Let me help." Aria leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

He smiled, "It's miracle. I'm healed." He kissed Aria softly, "I'm so sorry Aria. Will you forgive me?"

"Of course. I was just upset that you called me immature."

He sighed, "I know. I didn't mean to say that. You are very mature for your age. Hell, you're very mature in general."

"I'm not going to Berkeley." Aria changed the subject.

Ezra put his arm around her, "We can discuss this. If you want to go to Berkeley, I'll stand behind you. Whatever you decide, I will support and be there every step of the way."

"I don't know. I'm not cut out for California either, but it's also the number one English program in the country. It would only be for a few years if I did go there. I'm just not sure." Aria sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder.

He kissed her temple, "It's ok. You don't have to make a decision today. Just put it on the back burner until Monday and we can decide then."

"Sounds good. When do we have to meet the Pastor?" Aria glanced at the clock.

He stood and pulled her to her feet, "We probably should be leaving. We'll grab dinner on the way. We're supposed to meet him at 6:30 to have our counseling session. I figure that will give us forty five minutes to eat and half an hour to get there, with a little extra time to play with."

"Ok." Aria went to her bag and pulled out three envelopes. She handed them to Ezra, "Here are the invitations for your mom, Jason, and Connor."

He smiled, "Great." He slid them into his bag, which he shouldered, and led Aria out of the apartment.

They stopped at a small diner halfway to the church and enjoyed burgers and fries while listening to old country western music. Aria went into the bathroom and was glad she did because her face was a mess from crying. She grabbed a paper towel, wiped off her remaining makeup, and decided she didn't have time to reapply her makeup. She came back out as Ezra was paying the bill, "Why didn't you tell me my makeup was all over?"

"Because you are more beautiful without it. I would have pointed it out before you met my mother." He took Aria by the hand and they exited the restaurant together.

She half-smiled and replied with a hint of sarcasm, "Gee, thanks so much."

They arrived at the end of the sermon and waited quietly in the back for the congregation to break up. Once the crowd had filed out, Ezra approached his mother, who had been waiting for them to arrive, "Mom. I'd like you to meet Aria. Aria, this is my mom Sheila."

"Oh Sweetheart, it is so lovely to meet you." Sheila wrapped Aria in a big hug, "I've known about you for so long it's so good to finally meet you." Aria was stunned that he had told his mother, but she quickly added, "Well I didn't know about you specifically, but I could sense he had someone that was making him happy."

Aria smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Fitz."

"Please call me Sheila. You are the only daughter I'm getting after all." The older woman winked at her future daughter-in-law and Aria couldn't help but let out a small giggle.

Ezra hugged his mother quickly, "Well I'm sorry for the short introduction, but Pastor Harris is expecting us."

"Oh, of course. Well I guess I will see you on Saturday then. Ezra, will you walk me out?" She extended her arm and Ezra took it, promising Aria he would be right back.

Aria sat down on the front pew, surveying the room. It was quaint and she always envisioned getting married in a place like this. The stained glass windows were older, but still held strong and there wasn't a lot of extra details. Aria jumped when a man's voice interrupted her thoughts, "Hello there miss. Can I help you?"

She stood and extended her hand, "Pastor Harris, I'm Aria Montgomery. My fiancé and I have a meeting with you."

"Miss Montgomery, it's a pleasure to meet you." He shook her hand and looked around, "Where is Ezra?"

She motioned toward the door, "He was just walking his mother to her car. I have a feeling she wanted a word with him."

"Of course. Well, why don't I start with you then. Let's go into my office. I'm just going to have a chat with you, ask you some questions about your life and your relationship, and about your hopes for the future. I'll do the same with him and then speak with you both together. Follow me please." Pastor Harris led Aria through a door at the front of the room and down a short hallway to his office. They were in there for a half an hour when she returned to find Ezra waiting patiently.

She smiled and pointed toward the door, "Your turn. He wants to speak with you then he'll send you out here to get me so we can all talk."

Ezra was only in the office half the time as Aria when he returned for her, "Ready?"

"Sure."

The pastor gave them a speech about life in general, children and making sure they were ready for them, and a few other things before he was satisfied, "I can tell you are both in love. It's apparent on your faces and with your body language. You are very in-tune with each other. I just want you to take the next few days to think things over and make sure you are both ready for this commitment. I have married couples that have been living together happily for years, only to have their marriage fail because they lacked the understanding that when you get married, you are taking on an entirely new identity, and some people can't handle the transition." He talked for a few more minutes before excusing them, "I will see you Friday at 4:30 for rehearsal, right?"

"Yes. Thank you so much Pastor Harris." They both shook his hand and exited the church, happy to be one step closer to the wedding.

It had started to sprinkle by the time they returned to Ezra's apartment and they sat at the table in his apartment, sipping on coffee, "Well that went well. I feel more certain now that I want to marry you than I was before and I was a hundred percent certain before."

She smiled but there were so many things they still hadn't discussed. With her wedding only days away, there was one in particular that she wanted and answer to, "Can I ask you something? It's not an easy question, or one that really has any impact on the future, but it's one I'd like an answer to, if you don't mind."

"Aria, you can ask me anything. I have nothing to hide from you." Ezra replied sweetly.

She took a deep breath, "Were there other girls before me?"

He wasn't sure what she was looking for, "We've gone over this before. I have girlfriends before. I was intimate with someone before you. But you know all this so I'm not sure what you are asking."

"I mean have you ever been this serious about a girl?" Aria clarified.

"No," he replied in an instant, "you are the only woman I have ever even considered marrying, unless you count Gail Thomas, a girl I knew I'd be with forever. That is until she broke my fishing pole in the first grade. It just wasn't meant to be. But in all seriousness, you are the only woman I have ever loved. Those other girls meant nothing compared to what you mean to me."

She seemed to be satisfied with his answer, but continued her questions, "So you've really only 'been with' one girl?"

"Yes. Once. I had gotten drunk after my friend George's funeral and she had been a friend to me for so many years, harboring feelings for me that I was oblivious to. I don't remember what happened that night, but I woke up in her house and we were in bed together. I didn't stay to talk to her. I just hurried out the door. I may not have done anything with her, but after that I promised myself that when I had sex, it would only be with the right person." Ezra went into a little more detail than Aria was prepared for.

She composed herself quickly though, pushing her hurt feelings aside, knowing he needed to know the truth about her past as well, "I have to tell you something, and you may not like it." When he didn't respond she continued, "I've been with guys before. I've never had sex, but I've done pretty much everything but that. I guess, foreplay is a good word to describe it. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before."

"Aria, I am not at all upset by that. You are a young girl. I would have been a fool to think that I was the first guy you kissed or did any of that stuff with, and I'm not upset we haven't gone that far yet. I love you, and as much as I might really want you sometimes, I would never want you to do something you didn't want to do. So that being said, I'm going to say something and I don't want you to look any more into it than it's just something I have to say. If you aren't 100% ready to marry me, I am okay waiting. I'd wait for you forever. Aria I want to marry you and start are lives together, but only if you are sure that's what you want. I know you want to marry me, but if this is all too fast, it's ok." Ezra went through his speech quickly so he didn't lose his never to say what he needed to say. He went to reach for her hand.

She pushed his hand away from her, "What are you saying?"

"That I just want you to be certain of this." Ezra didn't quite understand the sudden anger in her voice.

Aria jumped off the couch and began to pace around the living room, venting the whole time, "Everyone is so worried about me. We just want you to know what you're getting yourself into. You don't have to do this, he'll understand. You're so young. What if he turns out like your father and has an affair. I was fine. You asked me to marry you and I was fine. Then everyone, including my friends, the principal, my family, and even you had to put all these ideas and negative thoughts in my head. I understand _them_, but why would you say these things to me unless you weren't sure about marrying me either. I have loved you since day one, and until recently I wasn't sure we could be together through everything. But one day everything seemed to fall into place and it was perfect for a day. One day when I didn't have to worry. But then the world decided to pull the rug out from under me, 'Oh look, there's Aria and she looks happy. Everyone needs to tell her she's making a mistake. We can't let her be happy you know," Aria continued spouting off, mainly to herself but it was a lot that she needed to get off of her chest.

When it seemed like she was running out of steam, Ezra stepped in, "Aria. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, I just want to…"

"I just want to be sure you are sure," she mocked. "You don't think I'm sure. Ezra I have given up a lot just to be with you. I've sacrificed where normal girls wouldn't have bothered. I'm not complaining. It was my choice. I'm just saying that you, of all people, shouldn't be asking me if I'm sure. You should be able to look into my eyes and see that I have always been sure. Just like I can look in your eyes and see in this moment, that you aren't ready." With that, Aria grabbed her purse and ran out into the rain.

She could hear Ezra shouting behind her, but she couldn't turn around and face him. She jumped in her car, turned the ignition, and slammed the car into reverse. She sped out of the parking lot and headed for the highway. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she needed to get away. Away from Rosewood and everyone in it. She kept driving until the car was almost on 'E' and finally pulled off the highway to find a gas station.

After filling the car and using the bathroom, Aria decided she didn't want her parents to worry. She sent her mother a text message, 'I need a day away by myself to think. I promise you I am fine. I will let you know when I will be home. Please don't be mad. Love you.' She then called Emily because she needed to talk to someone,

"Hey Em."

'Where are you?'

"I'm in… God I don't know where I am."

'What's going on?'

"I ran away."

'Aria , are you ok? Do you need me to come get you?'

"No. I need to be away for a while."

'What about Saturday? You are supposed to get married.'

"So _that's_ what I'm supposed to do?"

'What happened Aria?'

"I just got so fed up with everyone saying that I should be certain about marrying Ezra. It's not like I just met him."

'Aria, listen, I was just trying to let you know I was there for you and that you did have a place to stay if you wanted. I never thought for a second you'd want to stay with me instead of Fitz, but I was just trying to be a good friend and I offered.'

"I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about my parents. I'm talking about him."

'What did he say?'

"I can't talk about it right now. Just please let everyone know I'm safe and I will see you soon."

'Ok Aria.'

"And Em, weighing on the side of optimism, will you remind Ezra they need to get their tuxedos tomorrow?"

'Sure. I'll take care of it. We love you, you know.'

"I love you guys too."

Aria hung up the phone and turned the device completely off. She didn't want to be a part of that world tonight. She jumped back on the highway and continued driving until she found a sign for a motel that had vacancy. She didn't have any clothes or anything with her. She even had left her coat at Ezra's in her hurry to get away. Luckily for her, a gentle looking woman at the front desk took pity on her and provided her with a toothbrush, a comb, and an old t-shirt to sleep in. She drove to the parking spot in front of her room, quickly running to the inside to avoid getting any more rain-soaked. She turned the television on for some white noise and ran a hot shower. Once she was warm, she dried herself off and ran the plastic comb through her hair. Deciding nothing was getting accomplished by watching mindless reruns, she flipped the television off and buried herself under the covers, letting sleep overtake her.

**Thanks everyone for reading! Please review! Will update as soon as I can!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks so much for all your reviews! I love checking my email in the morning because all of you awesome words are there! Thanks: sumrandomperson, Carey, Amy, TrixR4Kids, .dreamers, Cricket1106, gawjus, HarrylovesGinny09, allthingstv242, SolitudeMyLove, mikhaila, VballBabe44, sia023, Bailey, bebailz123, Arianna, Lisabeth, Televison Lover, Alyssa, Kate, A, SammySam, AddictedtoFICS, ZoeyActress, Ria, Leah, iBreakTradition, RosalineMarie, Gemma**

**My vacation is winding to an end and I should be home by Tuesday. I haven't really been writing any so the chapters may slow down or get shorter until I can get settled again. Sorry in advance but any of you that write know what I mean.**

The next morning, Aria woke up, not remembering where she was for a few moments. As the memories of the previous evening came back to her, she glanced at the clock and noticed it was just before nine. She wondered what was happening in the town she left behind. She wanted to turn her phone on and check her messages, but decided against it for the time being. She didn't have her charger and didn't want the battery to die.

She knew she needed to go somewhere to relax and just think. She opened the phone book, looking for a spa or something that might be helpful. She came across one listing that looked a little too fancy for her, but as she read the ad, she realized it was perfect. She dressed and went to the front office to check out. She drove to the address listed, hoping that they weren't booked and if they were she hoped she could buy herself an appointment.

Thankfully, when she entered, there didn't seem to be anyone else there. The young woman at the front desk spoke in the most serene voice Aria had ever heard, "Welcome, how may we calm you today?"

"I'm not sure what I need. I have been having the most stressful week of my life. My parents found out about my secret boyfriend, I got engaged, I had midterms, I'm getting married Saturday, and all the while I'm faced with losing my virginity and the possibility of moving across the country." Aria revealed everything about herself before she realized what she was saying.

The woman gave her a friendly smile, "I am positive the universe will lead you to your destiny here. Now would you like to simply become calm, or do you need a place to think things over and make a decision?"

"Yes. The second one. I have a few decisions to make."

The woman smiled, "One moment please." The woman rang a small bell and they were joined by another woman moments later, "This is Emma. She will help you on your journey. Peace be with you."

She allowed herself to be escorted to a warm dark room. There was what looked like a large, covered tub with a hinged door in the cover. The second woman began explaining the room, "Here we have an isolation tank. It is sound proof and light proof, and allows you to be alone with only your thoughts, with no outside distractions." Aria wondered if they were trained on how to speak in such a soothing manner. The woman continued, "What you will do here is rid yourself of your unwanted thoughts and you will be left with only the decisions you choose, and you will be confident in your choices. You will become one with yourself and shed your exterior clothing. The water inside will match your body temperature, as will the air. I will close the door and you are welcome to stay in there as long as you need. The water will support your weight so feel free to just let your body go and become one with your mind.

Aria figured she had nothing to lose at this point and took her clothes off as instructed. She stepped into the tank which was already full of water. Aria lowered herself down into the water and Emma leaned down, "This is the button you will push when you have completed your experience. Someone will then be in to release you." She shut the hatch and Aria was amazed at how dark it really was. She decided to just go with it and leaned back in the water. Her body automatically rose to the surface and Aria found she wasn't sinking. After a few minutes, she began to slip away from her body. The mixture of the air and water being at skin temperature gave her the feeling of her body being dissolved.

Aria spent her time in the chamber thinking of everything she had needed to think about in the last few days. College, the scholarship, high school, her friends, her family, Ezra. She went over everything in her head, when she suddenly came to the conclusion that she needed to come to on her own. Without outside influences, she was able to make decisions that she wasn't able to think about clearly before. Just as her thoughts became conscious, Aria also became aware of her body again and forced herself to sink in the water. She pushed the button and was greeted a few minutes later by Emma holding a towel.

"How was your experience?" Emma inquired gently, assisting Aria climbing out of the water.

Aria took the towel that was offered and wrapped it around her, "Amazing. I have never felt so calm in my life."

"Did you make your decisions?"

She nodded and smiled at the woman, "I did. I have never been so certain about anything before."

"Wonderful. I am pleased the universe guided you so definitively. You may get dressed and I will lead you back to your reality.

Aria dried herself quickly and dressed as fast as she could. She was eager to return to Rosewood. Emma said goodbye at the front desk and Aria asked how much she owed.

"The universe speaks to you through us. It does not charge a fee." The woman at the front desk hadn't answered Aria's question.

She took out her wallet, "How much?"

"We do not charge for the first visit. We believe that the first time you have the experience, you must be led here by a powerful force and if you return, then we will seek compensation." She was being very cryptic.

"So I don't owe you anything?" Aria couldn't believe that.

The woman smiled, "Your piece of mind and oneness with the universe is payment enough. I hope your decisions lead you to your destiny. Have a good day."

Aria thanked the woman and walked to her car. The sky overhead did not look as promising as Aria's future. She thought that was a strange place, but nothing had ever been as clear to her as it was at that moment. She turned on her cell phone and her decisions were solidified by a particular text message from Ezra, 'Aria. I know that you are mad and may not want to speak with me. I just wanted to tell you I love you and Happy Valentine's Day.'

She glanced at the clock and noticed it was already 6:30 in the evening. She thought her clock was wrong but the darkening sky told her she had been in that chamber for eight hours. She sent a message to her friends and mother to tell them she was on her way home. She didn't contact Ezra, knowing that she didn't want to speak to him over the phone. She started her car and drove as fast as she could to Rosewood. She didn't reach Ezra's apartment until nearly ten o'clock. His car was in its spot and his light was on. She was relieved he was home. It had been raining since about eight o'clock and it didn't let up as she climbed out of the car. As she predicted, her phone had died on the way home so she couldn't call to tell him she was there. She went to the call box and buzzed Ezra's apartment. After five minutes of no response to her calls, she went to stand in front of the building. She began shouting for Ezra. She didn't know what she'd do if he didn't answer.

Meanwhile, Ezra was sitting on the couch, staring at the blank television screen. He heard the intercom buzz, but he couldn't handle any more from Jason then. He had been over twice since school let out and Ezra had no patience for him. He ignored it and tried to drown out everything but the sounds of the rain. How could he have been so stupid? He wasn't sure if Aria was ever going to speak to him again. He had gone with Byron, Jason, Connor, and Mike after school to pick up their tuxedos. He hadn't planned on it. It just seemed too painful, but Emily Fields had instructed him to, saying that Aria wanted her to make sure it got done. His spirits had lifted slightly, but after no calls or messages all day, he sank right back down in his despair. He was feeling so low; he began imagining Aria's voice calling him.

After a few minutes, he realized he wasn't imagining it and knocked a chair over in his urgency to get to the window. She had just turned from where she had been standing and was dragging herself back toward her car.

Ezra was out the door in an instant, not bothering with his coat or shoes or shutting his apartment door for that matter. He threw the front door open and dashed into the lawn, "Aria!"

Aria spun on her heels and sprinted through every puddle into Ezra's waiting arms. Neither spoke for the longest time. They just held each other. Neither cared that they were getting soaked and Ezra had forgotten he had no shoes on. When he finally released his grip on her, he continued to hold her face in his hands.

She began crying, "I'm so sorry I ran off. I couldn't handle the thought of you not wanting me. Ezra Andrew Fitz, I love you more than anything. My life will be meaningless without you by my side. You have to know that I am certain that I want to marry you and be with you forever."

For the first time since his father died, Ezra was sobbing, "Aria. I'm so sorry that I pushed you away. I'm so happy you came back to me. I know that without you I am not whole and could never be if you weren't in my life. I'm sorry. Will you please marry me?"

Her words stuck in her throat. She was so moved by his tears that she could only nod. He grabbed her hand and led her to the front door, where he wound up buzzing the neighbor to let him in since his keys were in his apartment.

Once they were safely inside his apartment, they just held each other. Neither could imagine life without the other and knew that this was all they would ever need, to be together and happy.

Ezra took Aria's hand and led her into the bathroom where he turned the shower on and began to undress, "Care to join me for a shower? I promise I'll be good, but we both need to get warm."

She nodded and removed her soggy clothing as well. When she stepped into the shower it was like heaven. After a few minutes she began to feel her feet again. Ezra, true to his word, barely touched Aria, only helping her wash her back and sneaking a kiss here and there.

Once they were out of the shower and dried off, they went to his bedroom and Aria put on one of Ezra's shirts and pants as he put on his boxers. They climbed into his bed and spooned together under the covers to stay warm. Aria suddenly knew exactly what she wanted, "Ezra?"

Ezra nuzzled her neck, "Hmm?"

"What if I don't want you to be good?" Aria held her breath as she waited for his answer.

He pulled on her shoulder so she rolled onto her back to look at him, "Aria, you wanted to wait."

"Yes. I did want to wait. I wanted to wait for you. Now I realize that I don't need to be married for it to be special and right. I know that I only need you." Aria explained quietly.

Ezra began caressing her outer thigh, "Aria. If we do this, it can't ever go back to being what it was. You can't ever get this moment back."

"I would give you all of my moments for a lifetime of happiness. I know I want to be with you forever, and if by some freak chance, something happens to us, I could never regret this moment with you." Aria could see the look in Ezra's eyes and she knew without a doubt, he wanted her too.

He kissed her, "Aria I have been waiting for you to say when. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Now, please make love to me." Aria wrapped her arms around his neck and began kissing him passionately.

He pulled back a fraction of an inch, "I love you." You could hear the desire in his voice.

"I love you too." Aria shuttered, thinking about what was to come. She was ready and wanted Ezra more than she wanted to breathe. The intensity of their kisses grew and soon there clothes had been discarded onto the floor.

With a final glance at his beautiful fiancé, he clicked the light off and made love to her the way he had always dreamed about.

**Thanks so much for reading! I know it's a little shorter, but I think it was good. Please review and let me know what you think! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Made it home from my trip thank goodness and I am soooo sunburnt! I'm starting to blister! I'm from the NE United States and did NOT realize how hot the Mississippi sun could be! **

**Thanks for the reviews: AddictedtoFICS, , Allthingstv242, sia023, Bailey, gawjus, SolitudeMyvampirekisses1901, LoveZoeyActress, TooCareful, HarrylovesGinny09, iBT, .dreamers, ilovepllandmiley, VballBabe44, jaceyb1, seriously56 **

**Hope you guys like the next chapter! I know you are all waiting for the wedding chapter and I'm sorry to say this isn't it, but I think the next one will be! **

It was three in the morning when Aria's cell phone buzzed on the kitchen table. She could hear it from the bedroom, having just collapsed on Ezra's chest, exhausted from their passionate love-making. She had plugged it in with his charger when they first entered the apartment and had completely forgotten that she never informed anyone she was back in town. She decided since no one had known where she was, she might as well stretch the truth a little.

She had multiple messages from each of her friends and her mother. She sent them all the same message, 'Just got into town not long ago. Ezra and I have been talking. Sorry I didn't let you know sooner. I will see you in the morning.' She wasn't about to leave Ezra's apartment in the middle of the night.

She laid the phone back on the table and returned to Ezra's side. He had fallen asleep while she was gone and she didn't want to disturb him. She pulled the covers over him and glanced at the clock to make sure the alarm was set. She then fell asleep next to her lover, hoping to wake up next to him for the rest of her life.

Ezra woke her up a few hours later, "Good morning Sweetheart. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. I absolutely slept well. How about you?" She smiled at him.

He brushed the hair out of her face as she stretched, "Best night's sleep of my life. You probably need to go home and get fresh clothes on."

"Yeah. That's a good idea." She climbed out of bed and bent to pick up the shirt she discarded the night before when she gasped and clutched her abdomen.

Ezra was at her side in a second, "Oh my god Aria. I hurt you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just tender. Can I get some Tylenol or something?" She grinned and began dressing.

He went to the bathroom and returned a few moments later with two pills and a glass of water, "I'm sorry Aria. I tried to be gentle. I didn't mean for this to happen."

She took the pills and handed the glass back to him, "I am fine Ezra. I had the best night of my life last night. Sure I'm a little sore, but it was so worth it. Thank you so much for last night."

"No, thank you," he wrapped his free hand around her waist, "You gave me a wonderful gift last night. I am honored to be the one you chose."

Aria kissed him quickly, "I love you Ezra. I'm glad I waited for you. Speaking of gifts, I can't wait to give you your wedding gift from me."

"Oh really? What did you get me?"

Aria pulled away from Ezra and walked toward the hallway. When she got to the door, she turned, "Marry me and find out." She continued to the table to find more messages on her phone, all wondering if the wedding was still on. She didn't bother to reply to anyone. She'd be seeing her mother in a few minutes and she'd talk to the girls when she got to school.

After one last kiss, Aria left Ezra to go home for a few minutes before school. She entered quietly and made it to her room without anyone seeing her. She took a quick shower, which felt wonderful on her sore muscles. She could have stayed there all day, but wanted to get to school early to talk to the girls. She dressed and went downstairs to see if her brother needed a ride. She looked around and noticed her mother had gotten some packing done while Aria was gone. She found her mother sitting at the kitchen table with her coffee.

Ella jumped up when she saw Aria and crossed the room to hug her daughter, "I'm so glad you are back. I was afraid you had run away."

"I did. But I just needed some time to think, away from Rosewood." Aria walked with her mother and they both sat at the table to talk.

Her mother sipped her coffee, "How did you make out? Are you getting married tomorrow?"

Aria smiled, "Yes. We are definitely getting married. I didn't really need to think about that. Just other things."

"Such as…" her mother motioned for Aria to continue.

She sighed, "You know that scholarship contest I wrote that essay for? Well I won. I thought it was for a scholarship for any on the Top Ten English program schools, but the offer they gave me was to Berkeley. I don't want to go to Berkeley."

"So don't go to Berkeley. Aria, no one wants you to do anything that you don't want to do." Ella always seemed to make things so simple.

Aria stood and hugged her mother, "I've got to get to school. Don't forget rehearsal is at 4:30 today. I already gave you the address so the GPS should do the rest, unless you just want to follow us."

"I'll talk to your father about it and let you know." Ella had already diverted her attention to her crossword puzzle.

She hurried to her car and drove to the school. It wasn't quite 7:30 yet. Even though it was early, she knew her friends would be there. She approached her locker and found her crew waiting, "Do you guys want to talk?"

"Uh, yeah." Hanna responded sarcastically.

Aria motioned for them to follow her and led them to Ezra's empty classroom. For once she was thankful he wasn't there yet. She shut the door and the girls bombarded her with questions. "Hey. Give me a second. I can only answer five of six questions at once. So Ezra and I got into an argument over the scholarship. He didn't know that I had only just found out about Berkeley as well. So that was resolved. Then we had out meeting with the pastor and that went well, until we got home, and Ezra told me that we could wait if I wasn't sure. I was just so sick of everyone saying that, like they were trying to talk me out of it. I just couldn't handle that he would think that too, so I left. I took a day and just drove away. I went to a spa and hung out in their isolation tank all day yesterday and came to the conclusion that I was an idiot for leaving and I came right back to make up with Ezra."

"So the wedding is a go?" Spencer wondered hopefully.

The bride-to-be nodded, "Yes. And I made another decision. I'm not going to Berkeley. I'm calling them and telling them no thank you. I have decided on the University of Pennsylvania. I'm not ready to leave Rosewood yet. As much as I always wanted to get away, I realized I just wanted to be wherever Ezra and I can be together. Well now that that place is right here, I don't want to leave. I may have to pay for it myself, but I will deal."

"That's wonderful. Now we can all be together." Hanna squealed and hugged her best friends.

Aria was confused, "You are all staying here too?"

"Yes. We are all staying here too." Emily smiled, but didn't elaborate. At the moment Aria was too happy to care about details and pulled them into another group hug.

The foursome didn't hear the door open, "Am I interrupting?"

The sound of Ezra's voice startled all of them and they broke apart, "No, but you can join us if you'd like." Hanna just had to flirt with him, earning herself a playful shove from Aria.

"Thanks Hanna, but I will have to pass. My fiancé might get jealous." He stood behind Aria, wrapped his arms around her, and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

Spencer was the first to head toward the door, "We should get going. Homeroom is going to start soon."

Aria stole a kiss and exited the room behind her friends. At the end of the hallway, Spencer and Hanna turned left and Emily and Aria turned right to go to their homeroom class. The both sat quickly, but Aria cringed from the soreness creeping over her body again. The relaxation from the shower had definitely worn off.

Emily's eyes grew wide at the look on her friends face, "Oh my god Aria. You guys…"

"What?" Aria wasn't sure what Emily was getting at.

Her friend pulled her close, "Last night. You did a lot more than talk, didn't you?"

"Crap," Aria didn't realize it was that obvious.

Emily held Aria's hand, "That's great for you guys. I'm surprised you waited this long. So I don't want details, but just answer one question: Was it all you hoped it would be?"

The bell rang and the class was soon crowded and noisy. "It was better," Aria replied quietly.

Aria floated on a cloud for the whole day. She was unable to keep her mind on her classes which didn't bother her today. At lunch, Aria called the scholarship committee and told them that she had to turn down the scholarship and she decided to go to the University of Pennsylvania. They informed her that she still had time before she had to make that decision, but she said her mind was made up. After lunch, she stopped by Ezra's classroom. There was already a few students in the room so she scribbled her note on a piece of paper and approached desk. "Mr. Fitz, Mrs. Glossenger asked me to drop this off to you."

He looked down at the note, 'Can the girls ride with us today?'

He smiled, "Thank you Miss Montgomery. Tell Mrs. Glossenger that I'd be happy to help her."

"Okay." She exited the room and headed to her final class of the day, which was the only class she shared with all her friends and the only class she hated: gym.

Unfortunately for her they were playing dodge ball and halfway through the class, she got pelted in the face with a ball, leaving a bright red semi circle on her face and a high pitched ringing in the one ear.

The girls quickly rushed over to her, "Are you ok? Wow that looks bad."

"Thanks for your support guys. I appreciate it. You couldn't have been a little more subtle given what tomorrow is." Aria held her hand to her face and the gym teacher allowed her to sit out the rest of the class.

Once they changed out of their gym clothes and the final bell had rung, they walked together to the parking lot, "So what's the plan Aria?"

"I want everyone to go home and get your shoes, just to practice in and I will pick you all up in twenty minutes or so." Aria hurried home to find out what her parents were doing.

Ella smiled when Aria entered the kitchen, "Hey Sweetie, sorry I didn't get back to you. Your dad had a farewell lunch today because this was the only day everyone in his department could really do it. He's on his way home. We'll just follow you. So do you want to meet at the Sunoco station at four and we can go from there?"

"Sounds great Mom. The girls are riding with us so we'll text when you are on the way. Ok?"

Her mother smiled, "Sure."

Aria called Ezra quickly, "Hey, mom wants us all to meet at the Sunoco station so they can follow us."

"Hey. I'm running late with a parent meeting. Can you give me a few minutes?" Ezra whispered on the other end of the phone.

Aria sighed, "Ok, just hurry please. This is kind of important." She hung up and immediately something clicked in her head.

"I'll be right back Mom. If Ezra comes by just tell him to wait for me." Aria hopped in her car and sped across town. She hurried inside city hall to pick up their marriage license. She thanked the clerk and exited the building, almost running into Mrs. Glossenger.

She smiled when she saw Aria, "Hello there. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine." Aria was eager to get on her way.

Her teacher didn't pick up on her disinterest, "So are you excited to go to Berkeley?"

"I'm not going to Berkeley. I've decided to stay here and go to the U of PA." Aria replied quickly.

"Well it's a good school, but why are you turning down Berkeley?" Mrs. Glossenger was concerned.

Aria shifted uncomfortably, "I don't like California. I'm sorry to be rude, but I have to go. My friend is getting married tomorrow and we have wedding rehearsal soon. It was nice talking with you. See you Monday." She wasn't lying to her teacher, Ezra was her friend and he was getting married. She laughed to herself as she unlocked her car.

She made a quick trip to the mall to pick up the gifts for the bridal party, everyone's glasses, and the unity candle set she ordered. She glanced at her phone and only had 15 minutes before they were supposed to meet at the gas station. Aria rushed to her car, hoping Ezra was already at the house. Thankfully, he was just getting out of his car as she returned. She had him open the trunk to put her purchases out of the way and climbed in the car next to him, "Hey. Oh my god, what happened to your face?"

"Well it's nice to see that my face is hideous to you," she teased.

Ezra gasped, "I didn't mean it like it sounded. You are gorgeous. There's just a big red mark."

"Nearly fatal dodge ball accident, but I'm fine. We need to go," Aria was quick to give him directions to Spencer's house. Aria was pleased to see the girls had congregated there again.

As the girls slid into the backseat Emily laughed, "Do we know you or what?"

"This time, it wasn't my fault." Aria discreetly pointed at Ezra.

He glanced at his future wife, "Hey."

"That's it; you guys have to break up. If you don't, you will never arrive anywhere on time ever again." Hanna declared with a smile.

They drove for a few minutes and pulled up in front of a small brick house behind a high row of hedges, "I don't know how this is going to work. I told Jason I'd pick him up too."

It only took Aria a minute to toss her purse into the backseat and follow it, landing very ungracefully on her friends' laps. Spencer laughed after removing Aria's heel from her shoulder, "He could have squeezed in the back with us. Or you could have slid over in the middle up front."

"He's handsy. He likes to hug and flirt and it makes Ezra uncomfortable." Aria waited for her friends to shift in the back and settled herself in between Hanna and Emily.

Jason climbed into the front of the car and turned around with a grin, "Well look at this beautiful foursome in the backseat. Man, I didn't know you were into that kind of thing."

"Funny," Ezra tried to make his tone light. Aria could tell he was uncomfortable as pulled out into the street. Her parents and brother were already there when they pulled in. Ezra pulled up to the pump to top off the tank. Aria got out and crossed the parking lot to her parents' vehicle.

Her father rolled down his window as she approached, "Hey Ezra's just getting gas then we can head out. Can I ask a big favor?"

"What's that?" her father wondered.

Aria looked toward the car, "Well Ezra's friend Jason is a flirty guy and it makes him a little uncomfortable with him hitting on me constantly. Can he ride with you guys?"

"That's fine with us." Ella replied before her husband could comment.

Aria smiled, "Thanks. Just be warned he will flirt with you too."

She hurried back over to the car and informed Jason he could ride with her parents. She just said that she needed to talk to the girls and it was personal. He brushed against her as he transferred to the other car and Aria was glad Ezra missed it.

Once he returned, Ezra wondered what happened to Jason. Aria explained and he looked grateful. They traveled the whole way with the girls chatting and Ezra looking completely at ease. Maybe it was because he was used to chatty teenagers or maybe it was because he was marrying the love of his life in less than 24 hours.

When they arrived, everyone climbed out of their vehicles and hurried inside the church. It was very cold and it looked like it might snow. When they entered, they found Sheila and a younger man Aria could safely assume was Ezra's brother. They looked almost identical except for the eyes, which Connor's weren't nearly as blue as Ezra's, and the way they carried themselves. There were other distinguishing features that were subtle, like Connor's face was a little wider and his ears were not as large. Aria smiled when Ezra and Connor shared a big bear hug.

"So where is my future sister-in-law?" Connor looked around and Ezra pointed to Aria. Connor approached her, wrapped his arms around her, and squeezed so tight her feet left the floor. "It's so good to meet you. When Ezzie first called to tell me he was getting married, I thought he was kidding. But here you are and you are actually marrying him. He is a lucky guy." He motioned toward a man that was standing next to his mother, "This is Marco. He's doing the photos tomorrow."

Aria started introductions on her side, "These are my parents, Ella and Byron, my brother Mike. These are my friends Spencer, Emily, and Hanna." Everyone greeted one another and Pastor Harris finally got down to business. He started giving them instructions as to what to do and where to stand. He wondered who would be holding the rings. Of course Connor would hold the ring on Ezra's side, but Aria didn't know which girl to choose. She decided to make them play Rock, Paper, Scissors for the first position. Hanna lost first thing and it came down to Emily winning after tying with Spencer four times. Aria took Ezra's keys and handed them to her dad, "Will you go out in Ezra's truck and bring a couple bags in. One bag has glasses and can be left there, but can you grab the other ones for me?"

While her dad was outside, they played with the couples' walking order. Connor and Emily would walk together which made Aria laugh out loud, causing everyone to look at her strangely. She ignored it and they continued. They paired Jason up with Spencer because Aria knew she'd put him in his place if he got out of hand and that left Hanna and Mike together. Once Byron returned with the bags, Aria pulled out the unity candle and they practiced the lighting. Her mother would light one and then his mother would light the other. When it came time, she and Ezra would take the little ones, light the big one together, and blow the light out on the individual candles. Aria really liked the visual.

After a few run-throughs of the whole ceremony, minus a lot of the spoken parts, they decided they were satisfied. Aria started digging in the bags to hand out the gifts. She handed the flask to Ezra and he handed them out, to the men's delight. Aria pulled out the first of two gifts for her girls. She handed them a compact mirror that had each of their respective names and the wedding date. On the inside, opposite the mirror, was engraved, 'To my best friend, so you can always look over your shoulder. Love, Aria'

"Oh Aria this is so beautiful, and fitting." All three girls hugged her.

She smiled, "There's one more." She then reached into the bag and pulled out the cutest monogrammed handbags any of them had ever seen. They matched the colors of their dresses. Aria pulled out a white one, "Well I had to have one too you know."

Everyone shared a laugh as the pastor approached again, "Can I have the marriage license? I'd like to get that out of the way so that's one less thing to worry about tomorrow."

Aria loved that Ezra's face froze, "Holy crap. I never picked it up and they've already closed. What are we going to do?"

"What do you mean you didn't pick it up? How could you forget?" Aria played along.

He turned and grabbed her hand, "Baby I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. That stupid meeting ran late and I wanted to pick you up so we wouldn't be late getting here."

She sighed and pulled a manila envelope out of her bag, "You are so lucky I remembered to grab it." She handed it to Pastor Harris.

"What would I do without you?" Ezra smiled, realizing she had just been harassing him.

Pastor Harris went over the whole thing and had Ezra, Aria, Emily, and Connor all sign the license and said he'd put it in the office.

"Are you going to join us for dinner tonight?" Aria asked him.

He shook his head, "Thank you, but I can't tonight. I spend every Friday night with my wife. You'll meet her tomorrow. She'll be doing the ceremony music."

Ezra smiled and shook his hand, "That's great. The two of you are welcome to join us tomorrow after the ceremony for the reception."

"I look forward to it." With that, the pastor retreated to his office and everyone else filed out the door. To their dismay, it had started snowing while they were inside. They hurried to the cars and Ezra led the line to a local restaurant.

Ella was the first to comment when they arrived, "Is this where the reception is going to be?"

"No, but it's not far from here." They went inside and thankfully they weren't busy and were able to seat everyone right away. They all shared a very nice dinner. Aria spent most of the time talking to Connor, getting the scoop on Ezra as a kid. It wasn't a shock to learn his favorite thing to play as a kid was school, but Aria didn't know that for years, his favorite color was pink.

After an exciting evening, they parted ways and headed home to prepare for the next days' events. Ezra drove Aria and the girls back to Aria's house, so she could gather the things she had bought for the next day and gave them to Ezra. He, Jason, and Connor were all going out tonight. Aria was just going to spend a quiet night at home.

When Aria told everyone of her plan, Spencer insisted on a different agenda, "No way. Bachelorette party at my place. It's already arranged." Aria wasn't going to argue with her friends. Besides, she was afraid one of her parents would try to talk her out of the wedding again or worse, kidnap her.

Once they arrived at Aria's house, they all climbed out to help her carry things to the car. There wasn't much, just the favors and her dress. She grabbed Ezra's gift from between her mattress and box spring and slid it into her bag. She was going to grab stuff for her overnight bag, but decided to come back. She would need to pack for a few days after the wedding as well.

Ezra drove them to Emily's and Hanna's houses so they could get their pajamas, clothes for the next morning, and their dresses for the wedding. Then Ezra drove them all to Spencer's house. Spencer told Aria to say good night to Ezra. She took Aria's dress and led the other two girls to the barn.

Aria turned toward Ezra and took a slow deep breath, "Wow this is a lot to process. I'll be your wife tomorrow. And you will be my husband." Another deep breath.

"You're not going to bail on me, are you? I mean if you have to I understand, but please, break my heart silently and don't leave me at the altar." He half joked, half pleaded.

She slid over to him and lifted herself onto his lap, "I won't leave you at the altar, as long as you promise to back out before I get the dress on, because if I have to chase you in my wedding dress, I will be very upset."

He hugged her like it was the last time he'd ever see her. "I can't wait to marry you tomorrow."

"Me either." She slid back into her own seat, "But you should go. I have my girls and you have your guys. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be the one walking toward you, all dressed in white."

He smiled and fixed the hair that constantly obstructed his view of her eyes, "What time are you going to get your hair done tomorrow?"

"Our appointment is at ten. Ezra, please don't try to see me. It'll ruin the whole thing. You aren't supposed to see me before the wedding." Aria lectured her fiancé.

He smiled at her, "I won't. Not that I wouldn't love to see you, but I won't because you would be upset. Besides, it's tradition. You know, for as much as you want this to be a traditional wedding, you'd think we'd be a more normal couple."

Aria laughed at his goofy grin and leaned over to give him a long, tender kiss, "Last single kiss of our lives. Are you ready?"

"I am," he replied with certainty.

She climbed out of the car and turned before shutting the door, "I love you so much. I will call you tomorrow. Please don't be hung over, and none of those bachelor party strippers."

"You are taking all the fun out of my night," he joked, "but if you insist I will be good. I love you too."

"Goodnight," she whispered and shut the door before he could reply. Just as he drove away, her friends reappeared.

Spencer motioned toward her car, "All right, let's go get your stuff before we start our little party."

They girls hurried to Aria's house, helped her pack, and then dragged her back to the barn. Not that she needed to be dragged, but the butterflies were starting to flutter and she was easily distracted.

They all changed into their pajamas and sat around by the fireplace with a couple bottles of wine, "To Aria and Ezra," Hanna toasted, "may you have lots of happiness and dirty student-teacher role play sex."

They all laughed, but the glance that Emily and Aria shared didn't go unnoticed. Spencer was the first to wonder, "What's up with you two? What are you hiding?"

"Yeah, no secrets, remember?" Hanna refilled her empty wine glass.

Aria crossed her arms and stuck her nose dramatically in the air, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Her three friends exchanged looks and even though Emily knew the secret, she joined her companions in beating Aria with pillows, "All right! All right! I'll talk!" They backed off so Aria could tell them the secret she had. "Well after I came back last night, Ezra and I were freezing from being locked out in the rain so we got into the shower together to get warm. We went to cuddle in his bed and, well…"

"You whore!" Hanna screamed and they all broke into a fit of giggles. "Why did you tell Emily and not us?"

Emily came to her friend's rescue, "She didn't tell me. When she sat down at her desk in homeroom this morning, she winced and I guessed. She hasn't kept it from you long, don't worry."

As they settled in, Aria's friends presented her with her bachelorette party gifts. She received a book on sex positions from Spencer, a flavored lubricant variety pack from Emily, and a dominatrix for beginners kit from Hanna. They all laughed at the last gift as Hanna blushed.

They joked around and watched PS I Love You before deciding they needed to go to sleep so they could get up early for their hair appointments. Aria was sure she'd be unable to sleep, but after the amount of wine she had consumed, she was out within minutes of lying down.

**So like I always say, please review! Hopefully everyone makes me happy so I can write a wonderful wedding scene! Thanks! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**I was a little disappointed that I didn't get more reviews. But thanks to those who took the time for me: AddictedtoFICS, singersk8rgirl426, HarrylovesGinny09, .dreamers, SolitudeMyLove, Mermaidmom, Bailey, Arianna, Bebailz123, Leah, Kate, SammySam, ZoeyActress, , NativeBeachGirl**

**I have had this ready since Saturday morning and would not let me login to upload it. I kept getting an error! So if you are upset I didn't update, just think of how ticked I am. **

**As I said before, without any further ado, I bring you the wedding! I hope you enjoy it and review like crazy people!**

The next morning, Hanna had to wake Aria up, "Aria, wake up. It's almost nine o'clock. You should probably get up so we can go get our hair done."

"I'm up," Aria mumbled from under her pillow, "Spence, can I use your razor? I forgot mine."

"Yeah, as long as you don't mind us all piling in the bathroom with you. We are all trying to get ready and you decided to sleep forever." She replied, already heading for the bathroom.

Aria rolled off the couch and landed on the floor with a thud, "Whatever." Aria couldn't believe she wasn't nervous at all. She was glad to see the mark left by the dodge ball was gone and floated on her cloud of optimism until about half way through her shower, when she was really beginning to wake up. After her shower, she blow dried her hair quickly and sat on the edge of the tub before getting dressed.

A few minutes later, Emily found Aria still sitting there, just staring at the mirror, "What's up Aria? Are you okay?"

"Em, what if I can't do this? I'm freaking out." Aria replied monotonously.

Emily pulled her to her feet and led her out to sit on Spencer's bed, "Girls! Come here please." Hanna and Spencer appeared within a few seconds, each only half dressed.

"What's wrong Aria?" Spencer and Hanna sat down next to their friend as well.

Aria just shook her head, "What if I'm not ready to get married? What if this is a mistake? This would be a big mistake."

"Do you love him? Do you want to spend the rest of your life with him? Do you trust him? Do you want to marry him?" Hanna asked, continuing with each question after receiving a positive response after each inquiry.

Aria sighed, "I'm just nervous."

Spencer joined in the conversation with the one thing she knew would do the trick, "Well technically, you are already married." She received a collective "Huh?" from all the girls before continuing.

"Well, everyone signed the marriage license last night. So the ceremony is only a formality at this point." She explained, and could see a smile grow across Aria's face.

She hopped up from the bed, losing her towel in the process. Not caring she was standing there naked; she hurried to get dressed and applied her makeup in record time, "I'm ready. Let's go."

They collected all their dresses and things they'd need for the rest of the day, and headed out to get in Emily's jeep, since it was the roomiest vehicle. They stopped when they saw a sparkling white limo waiting for them. Aria gasped, "Ezra."

"Thank you Ezra!" Hanna squealed and headed for the door that the chauffeur was holding open. It was very large inside so they could hang their dress bags on one side of the limo and they could sit comfortably on the other.

As the driver got it, he looked at them in the mirror, "My name is Henry. Where am I taking you ladies first?"

Aria gave him the name of the hair salon and he pulled out, rolling up the division so the girls could have their privacy. They began exploring the limo and were playing with the mini-fridge when Aria's phone rang,

"Hey handsome."

'Hey yourself. Did you like your surprise?'

"This is amazing. Hanna squealed so loud the windows broke."

'Well I'm glad you like it. So you are going to get your hair done now, then what?"

"Well I figure by the time they get everyone's hair done, it'll be time to head to the church."

'Yeah, probably. So I'm going to go to the park with Jason, Connor, Mike, and your dad for some two-on-three basketball, then home to shower, then over to the restaurant to drop of the favors and the glasses, then I'm heading for the church.'

"Wow, and I thought I was busy. Please just don't be late, okay?"

'I'd never keep you waiting. I'll see you in a few hours. I'll be the cute one up front in the tux.'

"I don't know if I'll be able to tell you and your brother apart."

'Hey now, I am so much better looking than him.'

"Yeah, I know. I'm just teasing. I love you."

'Aria?'

"Yeah."

'Can you believe this? You are going to be my wife in less than four hours.'

"I know. Now go play so we can have our fun later."

'Okay. I love you.'

"I love you too. Bye."

Aria hung up and they instantly started teasing her about her conversation. Emily could barely contain herself. As happy as she was for Aria, this was the first time she and Paige would be together around other people, besides her friends, as a couple. "I can't wait to see Paige."

"Icky, no lovey dovey talk unless it's coming from Aria. It's her day." Spencer reminded everyone.

"I don't mind. I'm glad you all have someone. Do you know how hard it was to be happy and in love around you guys. I felt so guilty that I barely ever showed how happy I was. Sometimes I was downright giddy, but now that you are all in love, we can be giddy together." Aria squeaked.

They pulled up in front of the salon and Henry hurried to open the door for them, "I will be parked just over there when you get done with your hair."

They all thanked him and hurried inside. Lucky for them there was no one else in that morning getting their hair done. Before they began, Aria called her mom to remind her to pick up the flowers and that they would meet her at the church at noon to start getting dressed.

With each girl having her own stylist, it only took an hour and a half before everyone's hair was finished. Aria had her headband and veil put in place before they left so it was one less thing she needed to worry about at the church. Aria paid the woman at the register and they all hurried to the limo, before the wind damaged their hair. Once they were safely on their way, Hanna played with her ringlets, "This is how I'd like my hair for prom."

Aria felt uneasy with the subject of prom because, even though she and Ezra would be married three months by then, she still couldn't go with him. She knew she would go so she could have a great night with her friends and because she couldn't miss her prom. She decided she'd forget her worries at the moment and just be a normal teenager, "That would look really good with that silver dress I saw you eyeing at the mall."

"No. I think that's too flashy, even for me." They continued chatting about prom and seeing Caleb in a suit and before they realized it, they were at the church. Spencer took her dress and Aria's dress and led the other girls inside, leaving Aria in the car until they could make sure the coast was clear. Emily returned to help with the few remaining bags and they hurried into the church.

Ezra hadn't arrived yet so they didn't have to lock themselves in their makeshift dressing room yet. Aria went to examine the flowers her mother had just picked up and couldn't believe how gorgeous they were. She assisted her mother with her corsage and began explaining who the remainder of the flowers went to. At that moment, they heard a car door and Hanna peaked out the window, "He's here! Come on Aria."

Aria hurried to her hideout, quickly followed by her friends. For the next fifteen minutes, they just sat around, deciding it was too early to get dressed. At 12:45, Spencer, Emily, and Hanna began changing, leaving Aria for last so they could all work on her together. Just as they finished dressing themselves Aria chuckled, "I have to pee."

They all groaned in unison, "What are we going to do with you?"

She shrugged, looking as innocent as a kitten and they all laughed.

Hanna went out, grabbing Ella and had her block the doors so Ezra couldn't go through them, then Spencer and Emily walked with her to the bathroom, urging her to hurry. As soon as they were back in the other room, Hanna called the all clear and went to assist her friend into her wedding dress. Twenty minutes later, Aria was the most gorgeous bride any of them had ever seen. "Em, will you go see if everyone is here?"

Emily hurried from the room and returned a few minutes later with Ella, "Everyone is here. Pastor Harris told your mom since we aren't waiting on anyone, we can start now.

Aria grabbed her mother in a fierce hug, "I love you Mom."

"I love you too. You are just so mature. I know that you will be happy together and I'm so sorry about everything I said to you in the past week. I was only worried for you and…

Her daughter interrupted, "Mom. It doesn't matter. All that matters is you are here now and that you love me."

Ella smiled and pulled a tissue from the bosom of her dress, "I'll go get your father and the guys and tell them we are ready."

As she exited, Aria and her three best friends shared a hug, "Promise we'll always be friends. I don't care about time, or distance, or whatever else may happen in the future. I want you to know that no matter what, you guys can call me for any reason, and I'm on the next plane to wherever you are, okay?"

"We are there for you too Aria. Obviously. Nothing can ever come between us. We're soul mates." Spencer added, tearing up. Everyone followed Ella's unspoken advice, and made sure they had a stack of tissues in their bras.

Hanna laughed quietly, "Who thought we'd still be stuffing our bras?"

They all chuckled as the door opened at the girls instinctively blocked Aria from view. It wasn't Ezra, so they relaxed. They helped Aria put her shoes on and they all grabbed their bouquets. Byron entered the room and asked for a minute. Emily smiled and waved, "We'll see you out there."

Once the door was closed, Bryon took a long look at his daughter, "You are too beautiful for words. There's nothing I can say to you that makes up for the past. I regret what I did to you, asking you to lie for me. It wasn't right. I know you've had this talk with your mother, but I need to know Aria, is this what you want to do? That this decision is yours and yours only."

"Dad, this wasn't my decision. I didn't have a choice. From the moment I met Ezra, I couldn't imagine my life without him. I knew that he's the one I'd want to come home to after work, have children with, have a life with. I saw everything I ever wanted in his eyes and as we grew together, I knew he felt the same. I can't even imagine what I would be like without him."

Byron allowed a single tear to run down his cheek, "Well even though circumstances are against you, I'm so glad you found a man like him. For days, I've been trying to find a fault with him, but I came up short. He's perfect for you. I'm so glad you are happy. I'm sorry I couldn't be as good a guy as he is."

"Dad, you are a good guy. You just made a mistake. Just make sure you let Mom know every day, how special she is to you, and that you only want her. That's all she needs. She loves you." Aria wiped another tear from her father's cheek. "Are we ready?"

He smiled and took her arm, "I am. Thank you Aria. I love you."

"I love you too Dad."

When they got to the door, Byron stuck his head out and let them know they were ready. The music started and Aria took a deep breath. She watched as the wedding party walked toward the front of the church and after the doors were shut again, Byron led Aria into the entry way, waiting for their turn to enter. She heard Pastor Harris ask everyone to stand and they entered as they heard the bridal march beginning to play. Aria saw the shocked looks on Caleb, Toby, and Paige's faces. Apparently their dates never informed them about whose wedding they were attending. She was lost in thought for a moment until she got a clear glimpse of Ezra's face. He had the most beautiful awe-struck expression on his face and any doubts Aria had ever had were gone in an instant.

For Aria, most of the ceremony was a blur. All she could see was Ezra's face and the way he looked at her. She knew she had never been happier than she was at that moment. She repeated the vows as the Pastor Harris recited them and listened to each syllable as it came out of Ezra's mouth, "I Ezra, take you Aria, to be my wedded wife. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness."

She felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. She watched as Ezra teared up and almost dropped the ring he was trying to put on her finger. She chuckled and his face brightened even more. Then Pastor Harris said the words that Aria had always longed to hear, "By the power vested in me by the State of Pennsylvania, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Ezra and Aria leaned in close, and shared their first kiss as a married couple. The kiss was no physically different than any other kiss, but the strength behind the meaning of the kiss could move mountains. After a few more seconds they pulled away from each other slightly and beamed at each other. Pastor Harris, interrupted their gaze, "It is my pleasure to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Ezra and Aria Fitz."

Everyone in the room began clapping for them and Pastor Harris' wife began playing the recessional music. Ezra helped Aria down the steps and walked arm in arm with her back up the aisle and out the door. They retreated to the room where Aria had gotten dressed and shut the door, "I love you Mrs. Fitz."

Aria wrapped her arms around his neck, "I love you too Mr. Fitz."

He laughed, "Damn, I feel like your teacher again." He kissed her again, "I'm kidding. I'm so happy I could explode."

"That would be really messy. You'd get goo all over my dress." She looked down at her perfectly wife gown.

He held her hips as he surveyed her attire, "I saw it when you were walking in, but I couldn't tear myself away from your eyes. You are absolutely the most beautiful person in the world."

"Thank you. Oh, by the way, if you hear I almost didn't come today, you just ignore it, ok?" Aria teased, knowing she wanted to tell Ezra about her morning cold feet before someone else did.

He continued smiling, "Why did you almost not come?"

"I was going to come. I just had a case of cold feet this morning. But I'm here now and we're married and our life is going to be perfect." She and Ezra shared another quick kiss before heading out of the room to greet their guests.

Everyone was giving them hugs and shaking their hands. Paige came up to Aria, "I had no idea you were with Mr. Fitz. But don't worry; you've kept my secret, so I'll always keep yours." She gave her a brief hug, "Oh, um, Emily gave me this camera to take pictures for the bride, you obviously. Do you want it back know or after the reception?"

"If you could just hang onto it until after the reception, I'd really appreciate it." Paige walked to Emily's side while Aria began a conversation with Jason, who seemed to be a completely different person in the presence of his wife, Megan.

Marco whistled for everyone's attention, "All right, let's head back in so we can get some pictures."

For the next forty-five minutes, Aria and Ezra felt like they were being attacked by the Paparazzi. Marco, Ella, Paige, and Sheila were all taking pictures of everything they could possibly think of. By the time they were done, Aria was positive she was blind. The wedding atmosphere broke up and they collected all of their belongings so they could head to the restaurant. Aria and Ezra were taking the limo to the restaurant, so Ezra asked Ella if she would drive his car that far. After that, they would take his car to go to the hotel.

They loaded Aria's things into Ezra's car before opening the trunk of the limo to get her overnight bag for her semi-honeymoon. They only thing Aria took in the car with her was her big purse, containing Ezra's gift. Once they made sure they had everything, they climbed into the limo and began the quick trip to the restaurant. Ezra was the first to bring up the gift, "So I had no idea what to get you that would be as meaningful as I wanted it to be. I got you something small and I hope you like it." He pulled out a velvet necklace box and opened it for Aria to see. Inside was a heart-shaped locket, with small diamonds forming a smaller heart on the front. He opened it and recited the inscription, "Aria, I love you more than any words could relay. From the day we met, our souls have been joined and forever is not long enough for the kind of love we share. You are my one and only. Nothing will ever be strong enough to break our bond. Love, Ezra."

Aria had held it together through the whole ceremony, but broke down in tears as Ezra read what was engraved into her heart. He was concerned, "Don't you like it?"

"I love it. It's exactly how I feel. This is the most perfect gift. Thank you." She kissed her gently before patting her face and eyes dry. She reached for her bag and pulled out the box for Ezra, "This is nowhere near as sentimental as my gift, but I hope you like it."

He opened the box and pulled back the tissue paper to reveal the first edition copy of To Kill a Mocking Bird. He was speechless for a moment, but quickly recovered, "Aria, this is beautiful. I can't thank you enough for this." He didn't dare pick the book up and hold it; it seemed too fragile.

They arrived at the restaurant a few minutes later and Ezra helped Aria out of the car. She was so glad the weather decided to hold off. She didn't want to get soaked again. They hurried into the restaurant to find everyone already there, ready to eat. They received another round of applause as the DJ announced their names and they went to their seats. They continued to stand for a moment, letting Marco take pictures, and then Aria began a small speech, "Thank you all for joining us today. It means so much to us to have such close friends and family. In front of you, the glasses and the candle are just a little something from us to show our gratitude and also at each setting there is a disposable camera. We are asking you to take pictures of whatever you like, other than the normal pictures everyone takes. We want candid shots, so we can see things through your eyes. When you are done, there's a basket by the door to put them in. So whenever the staff is ready, you guys can order whatever you want. So enjoy!" Everyone clapped again and Ezra helped Aria with her chair.

Connor began tapping on his glass, ready to get his best man speech out of the way, "I'd like to say a few words on behalf of my brother and his new wife. I haven't known Aria for very long. Hell, I didn't know she existed until Ezra called me to tell me he was getting married. At first I was thinking he was kidding me. Then I thought, 'holy crap, he got a girl pregnant.' The first conversation I had with him about this was short. But in the next conversation, he told me about their relationship and just the way he talked about Aria I knew he was head over heels in love with her. I told him I couldn't wait to meet this mystery girl. When I finally did meet her… yesterday, I could see why she was so special to him. There wasn't one thing I could pinpoint. It was just the way that they interact with each other. I believe they have found their soul mate in each other. So here's my best man advice, Ezra, try to leave the past behind you, and forget all of your mistakes. After all, there is no use in two people remembering the same things. And Aria, try not to harass him about those mistakes, he will make plenty of new ones you can use against him. But on a serious note, just take one day at a time and make sure that each day is better than the one before. To the happy couple. Cheers!"

Once everyone was finished applauding, the wait staff walked around with menus and a few minutes later took everyone's orders. While waiting for their food, the DJ played classical music, so everyone had the opportunity to talk. Once the food had been delivered and everyone had eaten, the DJ called for Aria and Ezra to make their way to the dance floor for their first dance. They had decided on the song long before their wedding planning even began. The sweet sounds of "I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden filled the room. The couple danced slowly, gazing into each other's eyes, each mouthing the words as though they were speaking them to each other. When the song ended, everyone cheered and Ezra moved off to one side of the dance floor so he could dance with his mother and Aria could dance with her father. They played Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me," which caused both parents to tear up. After one more song for just the wedding party, the fun began. At first it was just the young girls dancing. Soon Ezra joined in, deciding he loved Aria too much to care if he looked like an idiot. Shortly after that, Caleb and Toby couldn't be shown up by the English teacher and joined their girlfriends on the dance floor. Emily and Paige had been dancing for a while and Paige loved every minute of it.

Aria heard the familiar beats to a very popular song and got into place. Ezra stood by his wife's side, but had no idea what the moves were. Aria had a blast teaching Ezra the Macarena and Marco was quick to grab his camera to document the occasion. After a few more songs, they decided to cake the cake. As the wait staff was preparing the cake for cutting, Aria leaned close to Ezra and whispered, "I love you and I don't care how you want to do this, but if you get cake on my dress, I will beat you and not in the good way."

"I won't, I promise." They waited for Marco to get set with the camera and sliced down through bottom layer together. They put the slice on a little plate and each took half the piece in their hand. As their guests counted down from three, Ezra and Aria gently fed each other the cake and everyone groaned, expecting more. When Ezra wasn't paying attention, however, Aria grabbed a scoop of icing and smeared it across Ezra face. "It's up my nose," he whined. He wasn't going to do the same thing to Aria, but he grabbed her and kissed her intensely, transferring a good deal of the icing onto her face. They posed for Marco and the other cameras before Ezra reached for a towel, "Okay, you had your fun but it is starting to burn."

Everyone got their cake and danced for a little while longer. Pretty soon, Sheila decided she needed to get home. She had to work an overnight shift at the hospital and wanted a nap before she went in. They decided it was time to disperse anyway. Aria and the girls were looking forward to getting out of their dresses and everyone had things they wanted to do.

Ezra paid the DJ and went to the bathroom to change out of his tux so Byron could return it with his. Even in his teal polo shirt and slacks, he was the most handsome man Aria had ever seen and she was so happy to be his wife. Pastor Harris and his wife said a quick prayer with the couple and made a quiet exit. They thanked Marco, who refused to take any money, for his photography and Aria collected her digital camera from Paige, and her video camera from Caleb, who Hanna had so kindly volunteered to run it. Aria hugged her friends one last time and they all left with their significant others. Marco and Connor followed them out the door. All that remained at the restaurant were Ezra and Aria, her parents and brother. Ella handed a stack of cards to the couple, "These are from your guests. So I'll take the cake with me and I'll put the top layer in the freezer for you."

"Why are you putting it in the freezer?" Aria wondered.

Ezra chuckled, "Little Miss Tradition doesn't know? The married couple eats the top later of their wedding cake on their first anniversary. I can't believe you didn't know that."

"I can't know everything." Aria teased and grabbed her purse. They grabbed the basket of cameras and did a quick sweep of the room making sure they had everything. Aria shared a hug with her brother before embracing her parents tightly. "I love you guys so much. I'll never be able to thank you enough for supporting me."

Ella smiled, "Your happiness is thanks enough. Ezra, you treat her right. Remember that assassins are everywhere."

They all shared a final goodbye and Mr. and Mrs. Fitz hurried to the car to begin their life.

**So I hope you all liked it and I hope it was fluffy enough for you. I couldn't help it. Lots of reviews please! I want to know what you think about it. I will hunt you all down until you review anyway so you might as well do it when you first read it. (J/K by the way, but all reviews are appreciated!)**


	16. Chapter 16

**So I got some reviews, would have liked more though. *wink* Thanks to my reviewers: Jess, gawjus, SolitudeMyLove, HarrylovesGinny09, ZoeyActress, MrsFitz, csifan35, Televison Lover, EMKaitlyn, iBT, msbookworm93, AddictedtoFICS, .dreamers, 123hjc123, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, randomness 101-Fanfic Freak, Bailey, Bebailz123, Leah, Arianna, Jack. You brighten my day. **

**Glad you all liked the wedding. So to answer most of your questions, I will be continuing the story. I have no set amount of chapters of anything. From here on out I'm kind of winging it. So here's the very short honeymoon. Something better to follow.**

When they arrived at the hotel, Ezra let Aria out of the car to check them in while he parked and got their things. She walked across the lobby and approached the vacant front desk. She rang the service bell and began looking around the lobby. She was studying the carvings on the ceiling when the clerk startled her, "How can I help you this evening?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm checking in. It will be under the name Ezra Fitz." Aria steadied her breathing after almost jumping out of her dress.

He punched a few buttons on the keyboard, "Ok here we are. Do you have the credit card used to make the reservation?"

"I don't," Aria explained, "but my husband does and he will be in here in just a minute." Aria waited a few minutes and stood aside so he could wait on the older woman who had just entered. While the clerk was retrieving her key, the woman turned to Aria, "My dear, may I say that you are just lovely? Am I correct in assuming you were married today?"

Aria smiled, "Yes ma'am."

"Well that's lovely. Congratulations. I don't care what anyone says. I love to see couples marrying young. Have you known each other long?"

The young woman found a conversation with the woman to be very natural, "We've been together a year and a half."

"That's wonderful. That is a good amount of time I think. My Alfred and I were married the day I turned eighteen, after courting for five months. We had three wonderful children in the time we spent together, and we all will be reunited when I get to heaven." They woman spoke fondly of her husband and children.

The women were so wrapped up in their conversation they didn't notice Ezra had finally entered. He didn't want to interrupt, so he approached the desk and began the check in process. The clerk came back with their key cards, "Mr. Fitz, you and your wife are all set. If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to call and I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Fitz, did you say?" The woman turned to look at Ezra for the first time, "Well I'll be."

He and Aria were visibly confused, "I'm sorry ma'am. Have we met?"

"Well I should say so. You are my grandson." The woman looked very pleased.

Ezra, on the other hand, looked stunned, "Your grandson?"

She nodded slightly, "Your father, James, is my son."

"How do you know?" Ezra hadn't even given this woman his first name.

She brushed his hair out of his eyes, "I'd know my grandbaby anywhere. After your father passed, your mother didn't want me to have any contact with you boys. She thought it would be easier on you. I refused to stay away, so one day, when I stopped by to visit, you were gone. They had no forwarding address for you. I didn't know where to begin looking. For twenty years I've waited for this moment."

"Wow, I'm sorry. This is a lot to process. What is your name?" Ezra came off a little rude, but he didn't mean to be.

She extended her hand, "Delores Fitz. It's good to see you again, Ezra."

He shook it, but was still stunned. He wasn't sure what to say next and was thankful that his wife came to his rescue, "I'm Aria. It's nice to meet you. As I'm sure you can guess, it's a really big night for us. And this conversation could go on forever. How long are you in town for?"

"Oh I live in Philadelphia dear. I'm having my carpets replaced and the cleaning fumes bother my breathing. I'm just staying here at the hotel for a few days." Delores explained.

Aria grinned, "Well that's wonderful. Why don't we exchange numbers and we can set up a dinner or something this week or next weekend. That gives everyone a chance to process this a little more."

"What a splendid idea. I can see why you married her Ezra. That sounds like just the thing to do." She jotted down her number on a piece of paper and Aria returned a paper to her that had both of their cell phone numbers and their home phone number. "Well it was great to meet you Aria. I will definitely be giving you a call this week. Enjoy your honeymoon then. Good night."

Without another word, Ezra's grandmother turned and headed down the hall toward her room. Ezra just stared after her, wondering if he just dreamt the woman into existence. Aria took her bag from him, grabbed his hand, and pulled him toward the elevator. They hit the tenth floor and Ezra let them into their honeymoon suite. Aria was in love with the room already. After a few minutes of exploring, she returned to Ezra's side, "Hon, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just really shocked. Mom always told me that my grandmother had died in the car accident with my dad and grandfather. I never once checked to see if that was true." He was still processing everything.

Aria smiled, "Will you help me get the buttons undone in the back. I'd like to get out of this dress."

Unbuttoning her dress and bra, and running his fingers along the bare skin of her back seemed to bring him back to the reason she was in this dress and the reason they were in this fancy hotel. "I love you, my beautiful wife."

"I love you too, my handsome husband." Aria tossed the bra, slid her dress off and laid it carefully across the chair.

Ezra examined her underwear, "Those are cute." He had a mischievous grin on his face as he pulled her to him.

"You're lucky," she pulled back a little; "the girls were trying to get me to buy musical panties."

He shrugged, "They could have been fun." He pulled her close again and began kissing her passionately.

"Hang on. I need to get this headband out of my hair." Aria retreated to the bathroom and returned a few minutes later, clearly having brushed her hair while she was in there. She pushed him onto the bed and straddled his lap, "Now, where were we?"

After hours of consummating their marriage, Aria decided to put the Jacuzzi tub to the test. Her muscles were screaming again. She wondered how long it would be before she was used to the pain. She had just settled into the hot water when Ezra walked through the door, "Room for one more?"

"Absolutely." She didn't need to move because the tub was large enough for four people. When he got in, he began giving her a foot rub, which felt amazing after being in her heels all day. She giggled.

He grinned, "Ticklish?"

"No. I was just thinking. Most married couples overuse the 'Mr. Fitz/ Mrs. Fitz' name-calling, but I don't have a choice. I'm still going to have to call you Mr. Fitz."

Ezra sighed, "And I'm still going to have to call you Miss Montgomery. Awkward."

"It'll be funny. Just don't slip up. I've called you Ezra before and people look at me funny, but you call me Mrs. Fitz and people will have questions." Aria pulled her foot away and extended the other to him.

He began rubbing her other foot and rolled his eyes, "Yeah. That would be bad. I may just stick with Aria from now on. There are plenty of students that I call by their first names."

After the foot rub, Aria gave Ezra a shoulder massage and they both finally climbed out of the tub as the water began to cool off. They wrapped the hotel bathrobes around themselves and went over to the couch, "Do you want to watch the wedding video?" Aria inquired.

"Yes. I would love to." He kissed the side of her neck.

She laughed, "That is not going to get us anywhere. Why don't you pull out my laptop while I finalize the DVD in the camera?" She began punching buttons on the video camera and let it sit for a few minutes while she went to rescue her husband from her laptop wires.

As they settled on the couch, Aria reached over and popped out the newly made DVD out of the camera and put it in the computer. The first few minutes of the video was Caleb playing with the camera, and telling the camera that he didn't know whose wedding he was attending and that Hanna owed him big. Aria and Ezra shared a chuckle and she couldn't wait to share this with the girls. As the actual ceremony began and Pastor Harris and Ezra made their way to the front, they could here Paige in the background of the video saying, "Is that Mr. Fitz?"

They continued watching the ceremony unfold on the video, commenting on different parts of the ceremony, with Aria making sure she pointed out Ezra's teary eyes. They fell even more in love as they watched their lives being bonded from an outside perspective. After the ceremony portion of the video, they watched the reception part, both of them laughing at Ezra's interesting dance moves. After over two hours of video, they were still not tired and decided to download the pictures from Aria's camera and view them as well. They laughed at some of the pictures, but browsed through them quickly. They couldn't wait to get the pictures developed from the disposable cameras and see all the candid shots.

"Ok my love, I'm tired. I think we should turn in." Ezra stood and offered a hand to help his wife off the couch.

She accepted his hand, walked to her bag, and slipped into her sexy pajamas she had been saving for a special occasion with Ezra for almost six months. Little did she know it would be her wedding night. "What do you think?"

"I said I was tired. What are you doing to me?" He groaned but obviously enjoyed the view.

She smiled and climbed into bed, "Just teasing. Do you know when I bought these? Right before our first 'anniversary.' I had planned on wearing them for you then, but you got sick and I hid them so my mom didn't find them and they slipped my mind. So I bought these for you."

"Well thank you. I really like them." Ezra climbed in the bed next to her, turned out the light, and cuddled against Aria, "I love you."

She smiled in the darkness, "I love you too."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

Ezra kissed Aria's lips, careful not to bump into her, "For always believing that we were worth fighting for. For knowing that I was worth it."

"I have always believed you were worth it. I knew that as long as we could keep everyone else out of our lives, we could be the best couple ever." Aria didn't realize she was as tired as she was until she could feel herself falling away from consciousness.

He could tell he was losing her, "Good night sweetheart. I love you."

"Love you. G'night." She mumbled and slipped into a peaceful slumber.

Ezra didn't reply. He held her close and joined her in dreamland.

The next morning, Ezra didn't stir until almost eleven. He opened his eyes to find Aria still sleeping in his arms. He moved carefully so he didn't wake her and hurried to the bathroom. Once he had brushed his teeth and washed his face, he called down to the front desk for room service. Once he made the call, he wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to wake his wife up to spend every second he could with her, but he also didn't want to disturb her. He ultimately decided to wake her up, knowing they had to get up early in the morning to get out of the city and get to school on time.

He crawled into bed beside her and began rubbing her arm, "Aria, wake up."

"Mmm," she groaned.

He chuckled, "Don't grumble at me. You need to wake up. It's almost eleven-thirty and tomorrow we'll have to get up early."

"I know, I'm avoiding it." She responded through the pillow.

There was a knock at the door, "That's breakfast. Why don't you get up so we can eat?"

Reluctantly, she rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom as her went to receive their food. When she returned, she found Ezra had set up their breakfast and Aria looked at the stuffed french toast as a gift from the gods, "Thanks. I wasn't hungry until I stood up."

They shared a nice meal and just relaxed on the couch for a while, both of them still marveling at fact that they were husband and wife. A little while later, Aria stood and stretched, so let's go do something."

"What do you want to do?" Ezra inquired, standing up as well.

She shrugged, "I don't know. There's got to be something going on today." She opened her laptop and searched online for a few minutes while Ezra got dressed. "How about this music festival that's going on? It's amateur day. I should get you down there to sing."

"I do not sing Mrs. Fitz." He chuckled at her.

She crossed her arms, "You don't sing, or you won't?"

"What's the difference? It's not going to happen." He was adamant he wasn't singing in front of people.

She shrugged, "Fine, but we're going anyway." She began getting dressed without waiting for him to answer.

Twenty minutes later, they were on their way out of the hotel and to Ezra's car. She directed Ezra to the music center. He still wasn't clear what she wanted, "Why are we here?"

"Because it'll be fun. There's nothing wrong with a little amateur music appreciation." She had a certain tone in her voice that Ezra had heard before, but couldn't remember when.

They paid their way into the event and walked around the area. On top of the performances on the stage, there were different booths set up around the outer edge of the room. They had all kinds of event advertisements, art school programs, and different casting calls looking for talent. They were still walking around when one booth in particular caught Ezra's eye. It was geared toward writers. It was advertising a writing workshop and Ezra was intrigued. He did a little writing in college, but had let it slip since beginning his teaching job. As he talked with the presenter, Aria walked ahead. He caught up a few minutes later with a brochure folded up in his pocket.

After viewing all the information stands, they found seats amongst the crowd to observe the performers. Some were better than others, and Ezra hoped they got better. Just as he was about to ask Aria how long she wanted to stay, he heard her name being called from the stage, "Aria Fitz, performing piano and vocals." With a quick smile at Ezra, she made her way to the stage. He wasn't sure if she was doing. He didn't know she sang or played the piano. He was wondering what else he didn't know about her.

Aria wasn't certain what had possessed her to perform for the crowd. It had been so long since she had sang this song, and even longer since she played the piano, but as her fingers began moving across the keys, she remembered every note and began singing, "I'm so tired of being here, suppressed by all my childish fears, And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave, Your presence still lingers here and it won't leave me alone…" She felt in her element here. She had performed often while living in Iceland, but had never pursued any offers she had received. As the song was ending, she found Ezra's face in the crowd. It was the look of pure shock on his face that caused Aria to laugh quietly. After she played the final notes, there was a silence in the crowd. All at once the erupted in cheers and applause and Aria felt good about her decision to perform again.

As she climbed of the stage, Ezra was already there waiting for her, "Why didn't you ever tell me that you could sing and play the piano?"

"I also play the guitar some." She teased.

He took her hand in his, "Really. Why didn't I know about this before?"

"Because it never came up. Ezra, this was a part of my life before you. I didn't think it would get me anywhere in the world, so I concentrated on my school work. Besides, I think you always liked it that I was more intellectual than creative."

Ezra stopped her before she could walk away, "Hey. I love you no matter what. And I can see in just your writing that you are creative. It's not something you can hide, you know? You didn't need to hide who you are from me."

"I'm sorry. I just don't show that side of me to a lot of people. I haven't felt like this in so long. It's a rush." Aria shivered from the excitement.

"Well for the record, you were amazing." He leaned in and kissed her.

As they were heading back to their seats, a man caught up with them, "Miss Fitz…"

"Mrs." She corrected.

She smiled, "Forgive me. Mrs. Fitz, I'm Gerard Holden. I am a scout for Merge Records and I was very impressed by what I heard. What kind of instruction have you had?"

"I had some piano lessons when I was younger." Aria shrugged.

"You've had no voice lessons? Do you play anything else?" he wondered.

She shook her head, "No. I've never had voice lessons, but I do play the guitar."

"Here's my card. Please give me a call sometime. I'd like to setup a meeting with you." He shook her hand again and walked away.

Aria looked at Ezra with a surprised expression, "Was I that good?"

"You were terrific. I've never heard a voice like yours." He took her hand and headed for their seats again. Before they had sat down, however, Aria had three more business cards in her possession.

They finally got sat down and Aria scanned the cards, "Well. That settles it. I'm quitting school and hitting the road. I didn't know I was this good."

"Yes, Mrs. Fitz, you were outstanding. That was amazing. Are you going to do an encore before we go?" Ezra sat with his arm across the back of Aria's chair.

She shook her head, "I don't think so. We probably should get going soon and get some dinner."

"Come on," he prodded, "one more. For me?"

Aria rolled her eyes and stood, "You owe me. Don't think I'm going to be your performing monkey in stylish heels now."

He grabbed her hand, "Hey. That's not what I want at all. I just wanted to hear you sing again. I don't want you to do anything you don't want to. Let's just go and forget I said anything."

"I was only kidding. I'll sing for you. I've got one you'll like." She walked over to the sign in sheet and scrolled her name down. The amount of people performing was dwindling and Aria was the next up. Instead of playing an instrument, they began playing a karaoke tune and Aria sang the first few lines, "You were in college working part time waiting tables, left a small town, never looked back, I was a flight risk with a fear of falling, wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts…" As she was singing, she'd throw in a dance move here and there and Ezra was completely smitten.

As she was walking back to him, one more person stopped her with a business card. As she reached him, she took his arm and they walked out into the evening air. "You were fantastic. I can't believe I never saw this side of you before. There was no singing along with the radio or anything."

"How often did we ever listen to the radio? I mean we've had the radio on before but we were always preoccupied with other things." She gave him a seductive look and pinned him against his car. He wrapped his arms around her waist and caressed her back, until his hand slid between where her shirt and pants met, "Oh! Cold hands!"

Ezra laughed and unlocked the car for her He climbed in beside her and they made their way back to the hotel. It was still quite early when they returned, so they headed for the dining room for dinner. They were enjoying their meal when he wondered about Berkeley, "So, when is orientation for Berkeley? We'll need to move out there before school starts so we can find a decent place to live and I can start looking for a job."

"We're not going to California." Aria was puzzled.

He placed a hand on top of hers, "I'm sorry about the other day. I thought we were past this."

"No, I mean, I turned down the scholarship. I don't want to live in California. I've never wanted to live there. I am going to stay here and go to the University of Pennsylvania. That way we don't have to adjust to being married, me going to college, and being in practically a foreign country." She explained casually, taking a bite of her rice.

He couldn't believe his ears, "You turned down a full ride scholarship to the best English school in the United States? Why didn't you tell me? We could've talked about this."

She smiled lightly, "I needed to make the decision on my own. I knew if I truly wanted to go to Berkeley, you would support me and be with me, but I wanted to be sure that's what I wanted. It's not what I want. I want to be here. I couldn't ask you to make another sacrifice for me if I wasn't completely behind my decision."

"Well, I appreciate that, but you know I'd follow you anywhere." He rubbed her hand, which was still held tightly in his.

"I know, but I knew you'd stay for me too."

He smiled, "You are so right about that." They finished their dinner and went back up to their room, trying to decide whether to stay the extra night or just go home. They decided to stay the night at the hotel, since they both had their clothes for the next day already with them.

"How's your trunk?" Aria blurted out randomly.

Ezra glanced over his shoulder, wondering if it was some innuendo about his backside, "Um, fine."

"No, you weirdo. I meant the trunk of your car. If anyone walks by your car tomorrow and sees a wedding dress in the backseat, they are going to wonder." Aria explained.

He smiled, "My trunk if fine. We should get everything around tonight so we aren't scrambling in the morning."

She nodded and began fitting her dress back into its garment bag. She would have it sent out during the week to have it cleaned and prepared in the preservation kit she had bought. Once she was done with that, she pulled out her pajamas and changed quickly. She laid her clothes out for the next day on the couch and packed everything other than her toiletries in her bag. When she looked around for anything she had missed, she noticed Ezra propped up on the bed, just watching her work, "What are you doing?"

"Watching you. You are very interesting to watch when you are doing something. You have a steady way of handling everything. Even your dirty clothes you folded before you put them in your bag." He motioned her onto the bed, "So why don't we do something to get some of this energy out of our systems so we can sleep soon?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Who says if we start that, we'll be going to bed soon?"

Ezra shrugged and pulled her down into a fierce kiss, "I'm so glad I can be with you and I don't have to be a complete gentleman anymore. You know I'd wait for you forever and I'd never make you do anything you weren't ready for, but I was going crazy sometimes, being so close to you and then knowing we had to stop."

"I know. Even if we hadn't gotten married, I know I wouldn't have been able to go much longer without you." She kissed him gently, "So let's make up for lost time."

**So let me know what you think. Please review! I need some encouragement! Thanks!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks for reviewing: singersk8rgirl426, Televison Lover, HarrylovesGinny09, RosalineMarie, .mellark, Bailey, .dreamers, csifan35, Hannah, AddictedtoFICS, gawjus, msbookworm93, iamashleydawn, iBreakTradition, Jack, Arianna, Carey, Leah, Kate, Lisabeth**

**It's nice to see you all like the story. There's a slight twist coming up. Just so you all know, that thing you've been begging me not to do is NOT going to happen. It'll all be in the chapter after this one. Hope you enjoy this chapter. It's the longest so far :)**

The alarm woke the sleeping couple the next morning. Neither wanted to leave the warmth of the bed they shared, but they knew life had to go on as normally as possible. Aria was being stubborn, so Ezra went into the bathroom and got the shower going, "Aria, I'm getting a shower. Do you want to join me?"

A minute later, Aria stepped into the shower next to Ezra, "Good morning."

He smiled and kissed her as he handed her the shampoo, "Well at least I know what the best way to wake you up is."

"Well maybe not the best way, but this is probably a close second." She lathered her hair and ran her razor over her underarms quickly. She'd shave her legs that evening.

Ezra only took half the time in the shower that Aria did and stepped out once he finished so she had more room, "What's the thing that wakes you up the best?"

"Blueberry pancakes." Aria replied from behind the shower curtain, "not boxed ones though. Homemade with fresh blueberries... Now I'm making myself hungry."

Ezra was fully dressed by the time Aria was through with her shower, "Well we could have them for dinner."

"We could. That sounds like a good idea. What have you got planned for after school?"

He shrugged, "Nothing right this second. Why?"

"Well I'm heading over to the bank to see about getting our bank accounts joined, unless you don't want that. I guess I should have asked first. That was pretty dumb, huh?" Aria's felt really embarrassed that she came off so controlling.

He smiled and pulled her into a hug, "Not at all, Hun. I was figuring we'd do that. I don't mind sharing anything with you. It will be better that we have everything together and just pay our bills out of one account anyway. No surprises that way."

"Okay, I'm sorry I didn't ask first though," she sighed, "But after that I figure I need to start getting forms around to change my last name. After that I'm heading to my parents to get a few boxes for the apartment."

He gathered up the toiletries and the few miscellaneous things that were still scattered around the room while Aria dressed. Once she was ready, they gathered their things and went to check out. Aria went to the breakfast bar while Ezra went to get the car and when she climbed into the passenger seat, she handed him a breakfast sandwich and placed a large coffee in the cup holder, "You have to share the coffee with me. I could only carry one."

"Thank you. Well, are you ready for school, Miss Montgomery."

She giggled, "I sure am, Mr. Fitz."

They arrived at school a little later than planned and Aria hurried from the car and went to join a girl from her math class as she walked across the parking lot. Luckily no one saw her climb out of the English teacher's car.

Aria hurried to her locker and headed to homeroom to catch up with Emily. Her friend's face had a huge grin on it as she approached, "Hey Aria, how was your weekend?"

"It was fine. Thanks. Kind of weird though." Aria didn't know how to describe the meeting with Delores any other way.

Emily leaned close, "Weird how?"

"Well, I met his grandmother." Aria started plainly.

Her friend looked shocked, "I didn't know he had a grandmother."

"Neither did we. His mom told him she died when his father died, but there she was and knew in an instant he was her grandson. We're meeting for dinner sometime this week." Aria explained quietly as the morning announcements came on.

"Wow. That's definitely different. So how was the rest of your weekend?" Emily inquired with a wink.

Aria gave Emily a sly smile, "Stimulating. That's a good word. Oh, he heard me sing."

Emily's eyes grew wide, "Really? I haven't heard you sing in years. Was he blown away?"

She nodded, "You could say that." She went on to explain what had happened at the performing arts event, "I even got a few business cards from record labels that are interested in me."

"Well I always told you that you could be a famous singer someday. Are you going to call any of them?" Emily was so excited for her friend.

With a slight shrug Aria, answered, "I don't know. I never thought of that career path. I may take a few meetings to see what they have to say, but otherwise I don't know if I'm interested."

The bell rang and Emily followed Aria to her first class, "You should really think about it. You could be great."

"Could be great? I am great. Ha ha. I'll talk to you later." Aria waved at her friend as she headed for her first class and Aria entered her English class.

Mrs. Glossenger waved her over, "I have some news. I'm not sure if it's good or bad yet though."

"Okay. What about?" Aria wondered.

"About the scholarship. The committee thinks maybe this wasn't the best way to hand out the scholarships, since they had three other winners call to decline. They may be figuring something else out. What do you think?" Mrs. Glossenger looked at Aria hopefully.

Aria was thrilled, "That is really good news. Maybe I'll get my scholarship after all then, huh?"

"Of course. Let's hope." Her teacher waved Aria to her seat and began the lesson on a new book they would be reading.

As the day passed, Aria told her friends about her honeymoon and meeting Ezra's grandmother. She also filled them in on the scholarship situation.

Spencer, being as level-headed as she was, nodded in approval, "Well I was hoping they could work something out for you. After all, you did have the best essay."

The final bell rang and Aria hurried to change out of her gym clothes. She had Spencer drop her off at her parents' house so she could get her car. She let it warm up for a minute and then headed to City Hall. She approached the same clerk who had helped them the week before, "Oh, hello there. How was the wedding?"

"It was very nice. I was told to come here and you had a packet of forms I would need in order to change my name for various things." Aria explained and the woman wasted no time in handing the large folder of information to Aria.

"I knew you were either looking for this or an annulment, and I didn't think that was a likely option." She waved as Aria made her way out the door, laughing at the woman's odd sense of humor.

Since there was no parking this time of day anyway, she walked the block to the bank. There was a friendly older woman working at the counter, "How can I help you today, miss?"

"I wanted to know what I need to do to get my bank account combined with my husband's account." Aria resented the 'miss' comment for a minute, but dismissed it.

They woman looked shocked, "Let me get a manager for you. They'll be able to go over everything that needs to be done." She picked up her phone and a few moments later, a middle-aged man walked out to greet Aria.

"Well hello there. My name is Jacob. Pamela tells me that you would like to combine two accounts. Is that correct, Mrs…"

Aria shook the hand he extended toward her, "Fitz. Aria Fitz."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Let's head back to my office and we'll fill out the necessary paperwork." He led Aria to his office and went over all the forms they would need to fill out.

Just as she began filling out the first form, Ezra called, "Hey. I'm at the bank now. They need your signature too. Ok, I'll see you in a few. Love you. Bye." She turned back to Jacob, "Sorry. That was my husband. He'll be here in a few minutes to sign fill out his portion."

"No problem. I will just step out and wait for him and bring him back here when he arrives." He stood up from his desk and exited the room. As she was filling out the paperwork, she wondered what someone who looked like a body builder was doing working in the office of a bank. She chuckled at her strange thoughts as she was joined by Jacob and her husband.

It took only a few minutes to finish the forms. Jacob looked them over and nodded in approval, "Everything looks in order here. Basically we are just combing the accounts into one. The account that is currently in Ezra's name will be the one that stays. All of Aria's funds will be transferred to your account with 24 hours. Aria, we'll be mailing you a new debit card and you should have it within a week. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No. I think that will be it. When will my card stop working?" Aria wondered.

Jacob smiled and glanced at his watch, "I'd say within 20 minutes or so it won't work."

"Thank you for your help today." They both shook his hand and headed out. Ezra's phone rang and he was quick to answer it. He wandered away from Aria for a minute, but came back as he hung up. "Principal Stevens wants a meeting with me, now. Will you be ok without me for a little while?"

Aria smiled, "Sure. I'm going to head to my parents' house for a few minutes. Then I'm heading to the grocery store, and then I'm going home. Can I have your card since mine won't work in a few minutes?"

He chuckled and pulled his card from his wallet. He handed it to Aria who playfully snatched it from his hand, "3254 is your pin, right?"

"How did you know?" he questioned.

She rolled her eyes, "I pay attention. You aren't the most subtle when you punch your pin number in." They shared a brief kiss and Aria headed down the street while Ezra hurried to his car to get to his meeting.

As Aria entered her parents' house, she felt a weird chill. She wouldn't see this house again after this week and it was bittersweet. She was so happy in her new life, but this had been home for so long it was just sad to see it go.

"Aria? Is that you?" Ella called from the kitchen.

She walked down the hallway and found her mother wrapping dishes in newspapers and packing them in a box marked 'fragile.' She sighed, "It's me. How's packing going?"

"Fine," Ella went to the doorway Aria had just walked through, "Byron! She's here!" She returned to her packing, "You father and I want to talk to you."

"Mom, what's going on?" Aria was concerned.

Her mother smiled, "Nothing bad happened or anything, but I promised I'd wait for your father before I said a word."

Fortunately, Byron didn't waste his time and gave his daughter a big hug when he entered the kitchen, "There's the beautiful bride."

"Hi, Mom said you wanted to talk to me." Aria didn't want to waste time.

Ella stopped what she was doing and all three of them took a seat at the table, "Well, we know you are staying here and going to school in the fall, and that one bedroom apartment you guys have now just isn't going to be big enough for both of you. We have talked this over a lot, and we want to give you the house as a wedding present."

Aria felt like all the air had been sucked away from her lungs, "What?"

"Well, just to be clear, it hasn't been completely paid off yet, but I'm sure the house payments are less than his rent is. And if you wanted to, you could just use a small chunk of your inheritance money and finish paying the house off. We could sign it over to you before we leave this weekend."

"What?" Aria repeated, understanding the words, but so shocked by them that she could only find one word to say.

Byron patted her shoulder, "I know it's a lot to process, but think it over. Go talk to Ezra about this. We're going to be renting in New York for a while, and even if we were to hate it there and move back, this house is just too big for your mom and I. Mike is a senior next year, so once he's out of the house, we were probably going to sell this anyway. This would give you a real place to call home, to start a family."

"Ok," Aria finally began to put her thoughts together, "I will talk to him over dinner tonight. Can I just leave my boxes here for now then? We may come back tonight to talk this over when he can be here."

Her father gave her a smile, "You can leave you stuff here. Just let us know if you are going to come talk to us."

"Ok, thanks." Aria turned and headed out the door. She went to the store to get supplies for dinner and went to the apartment to find it empty. She wasn't sure what time he would be home from his meeting, so she didn't start dinner. She took care of the groceries and pulled her cell phone from her purse to call him when she realized she had a voicemail. She listened to the message, but it was very garbled. She called Ezra's cell phone in case it was important,

"Hey."

'Hey. Did you get my message?'

"Well, I got it but I couldn't understand it."

'Sorry. The janitor was outside waxing the floor. I didn't think it was that loud. The meeting was about us again. No problems or anything. I'll be there in a few. I love you.'

"Love you too. Bye."

Aria hung up and got to work on dinner. By the time Ezra walked in the door, the smell of breakfast foods caused his mouth to water, "That smells delicious. No wonder it wakes you up."

Aria set a plate of bacon and pancakes on the table and poured them both a glass of orange juice. She finished cooking the scrambled eggs and separated them onto two plates. She was just setting the table as Ezra returned from the bedroom in jeans and a t-shirt. Before he let Aria sit, he pulled her in for a kiss. He laughed, "You taste like syrup."

She giggled and sat down across from him, "I was just testing it." They made their plates and ate in silence for a few minutes until Aria put her fork down, "I'm glad you didn't get caught there late. I need to talk to you."

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" He took one more bite of pancake and set his fork down.

She sighed, "I was thinking about where we want to live. I mean we've already decided this place is just too small for both of us."

"Well we have a little time to think about it. Why the rush?" he wondered as he picked up a piece of bacon and crunched on it.

Aria waited for him to finish chewing, "Well, my parents offered us their house."

"What?" Ezra was as shocked as she had been.

She chuckled, "That's what I said too. They offered it to us for a wedding present. We just have to take over the loan payments on the house and it's ours."

"That's really nice of them, but I don't know. I mean is that what you want?" Ezra wondered.

Aria shrugged, "That's why I'm talking to you. I know that we'll be staying in the area here so I can go to school and you can teach. I love that house, but is it too big for us? I mean my parents said even if they move back, it's too big for the two of them, with Mike graduating next year. We won't be having a family for a while. Do we even want to stay in the area after I graduate? I know I like it here, but what do you see in the future?"

"Aria, I'm happy here. I like my job and I could see myself staying here. I'll probably eventually be getting my Master's Degree and possibly take a job at Hollis. I like Rosewood and I could live here forever, but I am happy to move if that's what you want. I mean what if we take the house, and that way we have a ton of space and we can have our bedroom and each have our own office. That way we'll actually be able to get work done, because I find that incredibly hard to do when I'm around you sometimes. And what if, in five years, we decide we don't want to stay here and we sell the place. What do your parents think about that?" Ezra was trying to cover all the bases.

She didn't know, "Well that's something we'll have to talk to them about. I told them we might come over after dinner to discuss everything. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a plan." Ezra and Aria finished their dinner and she sent a quick text to her mother letting her know they would be there soon. She finished her math homework and they headed to see her parents.

Mike had already retreated to his room so the four adults sat in the kitchen to talk. Byron spoke first, "So what have you guys decided?"

"We haven't really decided on anything. We were discussing a few things and I didn't know the answers to his questions." Aria discussed a few of the things they had questions about.

Ella smiled, "Okay, well first off, if you don't take the house, we are going to sell it anyway. So if you decided in one year, five years, or 50 years that you wanted to sell the house, that's your decision. We want you to be happy and if you decide that you don't want the house, it's completely fine with us. We're just giving you the option now so in the future we don't regret that we didn't give you the chance at the house."

"Can we get a minute?" Ezra wanted a few minutes alone with his wife to think it over. "We'll just step outside." He took Aria by the hand and led her into the back yard. It seemed unreal that just over week ago they were discussing getting married.

Aria smiled, "Well, what do you think?"

"I think that we should take them up on the offer. It's a good investment for our future. If we decide we want to stay here it would be a great place to have kids someday. And if not, we can sell it and use the money to put toward a house somewhere else. What are you thinking?"

She nodded, "I agree with you. I think we should do it." She and Ezra returned to the table to let her parents know their intentions, "We decided we will take the house."

"Wonderful, we thought you would. So we will contact the bank in the morning to see what needs to be done. Are the two of you available after school tomorrow?" Byron wondered.

They both nodded, "Yes we don't have anything planned tomorrow. We were going to move her things, but since they are staying here, we have nothing going on."

"Ok, well we'll make an appointment at the bank for tomorrow afternoon to get all of the paperwork signed. That way, it's one less thing to have to worry about in the moving process." Byron suggested.

Ezra stood and shook his hand, "Sounds good. Well I think we need to head home. I've got papers to grade."

Aria hugged both her parents and followed her husband to his car, "I love you. I can't believe this is going to be our home soon."

"Yeah. It's amazing how much our lives have changed in the last week and a half. Then I was worried about your parents finding out about us and getting thrown in jail. Today I'm worried about being a good husband and making house payments."

Aria leaned her head against his shoulder as they drove toward the apartment, "You don't have to worry about the first one. You are a good husband."

"We've only been married two days. How do you know I'm a good husband?" he teased.

"Because I'm the wife, and the wife is always right." They both laughed and were still chuckling as they entered the apartment.

Ezra pulled out the papers he needed to read over and Aria finished the dinner dishes. She flopped on the couch and opened a library book she had been carrying around in her bag for a month. She hadn't even begun reading when she closed the book and stood up. "Are you okay Hun?" Ezra questioned over the paper he was reading.

"I'm fine. I'm going down to the car to bring up the cards from the wedding. I figure I should open them and get everything in order to send thank you cards." Aria kissed Ezra's cheek and hurried to the car. She returned quickly, shivering, "When am I going to realize it's February and it's cold outside?"

She sat at the table across from Ezra with the small stack of cards and a notepad. After every card she opened, she'd write down the gift and who it was from. The final card was from Ezra's mother. Aria opened it and a check for $10,000 fell out, "Ezra…"

"Hmm?" he barely glanced up. A moment, he looked back up at her, "What's up?"

She handed him the check, "This is from your mom."

"What? There's no way. I'll have to call her tomorrow." He went back to his papers, trying to block out Aria's gaze. He looked up after a minute, "Aria, I love you. It's very hard to concentrate with you anywhere near me, but with you staring at me, it's nearly impossible to work."

Aria stood and walked toward the bedroom. As she encountered the bedroom door she turned, "Then I'll just go in here and leave you to your work."

It took Ezra only seconds to follow her into the bedroom and shut the door.

The next morning, Ezra woke before Aria so he could finish what he was working on night before. He hurried to finish his 'homework' and went to wake Aria up. As he entered the bedroom, he couldn't help but watch her as she slept. She was so beautiful and the exact woman he had always wanted by his side. He would have been just as happy to crawl back in bed with her and spend the day, but he knew they both had responsibilities. He sat on the bed next to her and rubbed her back, "Sweetie, it's time to get up."

"Morning," she rolled over and stretched, "What's with the goofy look on your face?"

He chuckled, "I just can't wait until our real honeymoon so we can just get away with no responsibilities, no early mornings, and no school."

She buried her face in her pillow, "I know what you mean. What time is it?"

"Just before seven. I left you time to get a shower, or do other things before your shower." He traced his fingers along her spine.

She rolled her eyes, "Then we'd definitely be late."

Ezra leaned close and whispered in her ear, "We can be quick." He kissed her passionately and turned off the alarm before it could go off.

After a quickie and a shower, they decided to be safe they would each drive themselves to school. Aria knew Ezra would have to stay late some days and he knew that it would be better if they didn't have to worry about someone seeing them getting out of the same car.

The day progressed like every day; the only difference was Aria didn't stop in to see Ezra between her classes. She used to do it because she didn't get to see him often enough so staying away from him was too much to bear. Now that they were married and living together, she didn't feel the need to stop in all the time.

After school, they both drove to the bank and waited for her parents to show up, "It's a good thing we have a few minutes. I need to talk to them about our account."

"What's up?" Aria wondered and followed him inside.

He shrugged and got in line for the teller, "Well I checked to see how much was in there at lunch and they put too much money in the account. It said that over $150,000 was moved from your account to mine."

"Actually it should have been close to $165,000." Aria stated calmly.

Ezra's face read pure disbelief, "What are you talking about?"

"Ezra, I told you I had quite a lot of money from my inheritance. You never asked how much it was." Aria hoped he wasn't going to pass out.

He took a deep breath and moved away from the line, "Yeah, but I guess I just assumed that it was maybe twenty thousand at the most. I mean that's still quite a bit. I guess I should have asked. Wow, that's a lot of money."

She smiled and patted his hand, "Don't worry about it. This way, we can just finish paying off the house and be done with it. What do you think?"

"Whatever you want to do. It's your money." He brushed his hand through his hair.

Aria shook her head, "No, it's our money. Why don't we just wait and see how much is left to pay off then we'll decide?"

"Ok," Ezra and Aria stood as her parents entered, "Hi there. How are you today?"

Ella smiled and gave him a smile, "We're fine. Are we ready to do this?"

"Yes." Aria replied quickly, hoping her parents wouldn't change their minds.

The meeting with Greg went rather smoothly and soon everything was transferred to Aria and Ezra. Her parents left and they continued filling out the rest of the paperwork. They were informed there was about $75,000 left to pay on the house.

"Can we have a few minutes to talk about this?" Ezra inquired and Greg excused himself, "Well what do you think?"

Aria shrugged, "Well we can either make payments or we can just pay it off. We have the money now and there wouldn't be any more interest on it if we pay for it outright."

"Yes, but what about school? You may have to pay for your education." Ezra reminded her.

Aria crossed her arms, "I'll get some sort of scholarship or something, and even if I don't, I'll be able to pay for the first few years and maybe take a loan for the last year. At least it would be less than the house."

"Ok, Hun, if that's what you want to do, let's just pay it off today." They waited a few minutes before Greg returned. They had the money transferred from their account to pay off the loan on the house and were handed the deed, free and clear. Ezra and Aria were so relieved they decided to go out to dinner to celebrate. They approached the local restaurant, and Aria's heart sank. Ezra noticed the look on her face, "What's wrong?"

She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, "We're married, and we still can't be seen in public together. This is fun."

"I'm so sorry for asking so much of you. You are so young and I feel like I'm taking a lot away from you. Can you ever forgive me?" He was moping and Aria hated it when he was like this.

She took his hand and gave him a seductive grin, "Well I can think of something you can do for me."

He was curious, "What's that?"

"Well, should I say something you can do _to _me. I think we should skip dinner." Aria rubbed Ezra's thigh, hoping she didn't have to spell it out. Luckily, he got the hint and turned toward the apartment.

A few hours later, they were lying in bed cuddling. Aria sighed, "I know this is going to wear off eventually, but I like this right now."

"What's going to wear off?" he wondered, running his fingers through her hair.

"This," she motioned between them, "the sex all the time. I know that the honeymoon feel will go away and we won't do this as much, but I like that we are doing it now."

He rolled over to face her and rested his head on his hand, "Who says it has to go away?"

"Well, it just happens." Aria states as though it was a fact.

Ezra traced circles around her belly button, "It doesn't have to. We can have things however we want them. And if we want to make love five times a day, everyday, who is to say we can't?"

"I guess no one." Aria was content with that answer and snuggled close to him again.

A few minutes later, he interrupted the silence, "Are you on birth control?"

"I can't believe you are asking me that now." She laughed and began to get up.

He stopped her, "I'm sorry. I mean I wouldn't mind a baby now, I guess that's why I didn't ask before, but I know that you do want to wait, so I'm just making sure."

"I am on birth control, don't worry. I have been for a year." She pulled herself out of his arms and headed to the bathroom to clean up.

Ezra stood outside the door and talked to her, trying to give her some privacy, "A year? Why have you been on it a year if you were waiting?"

"Because," she replied, coming out of the bathroom with her silk robe on, "After that first time you and I almost slipped, I thought it would be a good idea. That way, if we did slip, we wouldn't have to worry about any proof that we'd been together."

He smiled, "I don't know. Little Ezra might be adorable."

"Yeah, he would be. As long as you take care of him at night so I can sleep and in the evenings so I can do my homework, and find daycare during the day while we're both in school. Probably not your idea of fun." She pulled him close and began kissing his neck, "Besides, the honeymoon would really be over then."

He kissed her gently and rubbed her nose with his, "You are right. I think we should wait on little Ezra."

"You really want to name our imaginary son Ezra?"

Ezra shook his head, "No. If the baby has a different name, then we know who mommy is yelling at and daddy knows when to hide."

"Very cute. I'm going to make a snack. Do you want something?" Aria wondered, hearing her stomach rumble.

He kissed her forehead, "Sure. I'll eat whatever. I'm going to jump in the shower now though. I really don't like having to take a cold shower after you every morning."

"That's the good thing about our house; both bathrooms have their own hot water tanks." She hurried for the kitchen before her stomach got any louder.

When Ezra finished with his shower and went to the kitchen, Aria just finished making fettuccini alfredo, "You call this a snack?"

"Sometimes." Aria smiled and dished some into a bowl for each of them. They sat on the couch watching the news and eating their late snack when the phone rang.

Ezra leaned over and answered it, "Hello." He handed it to Aria, "It's for you."

She took the phone from him, "Hello. Hey Spence. What's wrong? No, it's fine. I'll be right there." Aria hung up the phone and handed it back to Ezra, "I have to go." She stood and returned her bowl to the kitchen.

He knew there was something wrong, but tried to lighten the mood, "You know, the only reason I married you is so you don't keep taking off on me."

"You are adorable Mr. Fitz, but I need to go. Spencer's nephew fell down the stairs. She's upset. I'm going to the hospital." She rushed to the bedroom and returned a few minutes later fully dressed and pulling her furry boots on.

He stood, "Is he okay? Do you want me to come with you?"

"They don't know how he is yet. It's probably not a good idea if you go, but I'll let you know what's going on. You might as well go to bed. I may be a while." Aria gave Ezra a big hug and kiss. "I love you."

Ezra kissed her again, "I love you too."

Aria hurried out the door and realized she had grabbed Ezra's keys, "Oh well, he won't mind." She hopped in his car and hurried to her friend's side.

When she entered, Spencer jumped up and hugged Aria, "I'm so glad you're here."

"How is he?" Aria questioned.

Spencer shrugged and sat down, "I'm not sure. Mom and Melissa are in there and I've just been waiting out here with Dad. He just went for a walk."

"What happened? How did he fall down the stairs?" Aria wondered, joining her friend on the waiting room sofa.

"We don't know. The baby gate was up. Unless he's figured out a way to climb it or it wasn't latched. He's just started crawling so I don't know what happened. Melissa was the last one up the stairs though. I haven't talked to her." Spencer sat quietly with Aria's arm around her until she spotted her mom and they both jumped up to talk to her, "How is he doing Mom?"

Veronica sighed, "He's going to be ok. They haven't detected any cranial bleeding or swelling and they don't expect to see any. His leg and nose are broken, so they are keeping him restrained and sedated. They will be keeping him here for a few days for observation."

They were all wondering how he fell, "What happened?"

"Your sister laid him on his blanket to play with a toy and went to answer the phone. Apparently he scooted across the floor and she never bothered to latch the baby gate because she thought she'd be right back. She feels horrible, so don't say anything to make it worse, ok? You can go see him for a minute, but then I want to go home." Veronica sat down of the couch and called her husband.

Spencer took Aria's hand and they both approached the room where Ian Jr. was resting. They entered quietly and they could tell Melissa had been crying. She stood and hugged Spencer as they approached, "It's all my fault he fell. What kind of a mother let's her baby fall down the stairs?"

"It was just an accident. Accidents happen. Remember when I fell in the pool when I was a baby? It wasn't anyone's fault. Mom felt bad about it for a while, but I turned out just fine and I don't blame her. He won't remember this and he won't blame you, so don't blame yourself." Spencer gave her sister another hug before peaking at her nephew. He was bandaged up and bruised in multiple places and he had heart monitors and an oxygen mask on. He looked pretty rough.

Aria smiled at him, "He's still gorgeous Melissa. He's going to be fine. We'll be here if you need anything."

"Thank you Aria. You've always been there when Spencer needed you. I'm glad you are here for me too." She gave Aria a hug as well and they exited, leaving Melissa and Ian alone.

Aria said her goodbyes and Spencer thanked her for coming, "I know that you are a newlywed and all that, but I knew you would be here for me. Thanks."

"No problem. You call me if you need anything." Aria hurried to the parking lot and searched for her car for a few minutes before remembering she had Ezra's car. She chuckled to herself as she climbed in the car. She was about five minutes from the apartment when a semi collided with the passenger side of her car.

**Holy crap! A cliffhanger! At least not a bad one. Don't worry. I couldn't kill Aria off yet. So please, please, PLEASE review! I need my crack!**


	18. Chapter 18

**YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! I got so many reviews this last chapter! Thanks to: iBreakTradition, Rose, EMKaitlyn, AddictedtoFICS, Bailey, Arianna, Jack, Leah, Kate, msbookworm93, RosalineMarie, 3murphytoddlers, gawjus, SolitudeMyLove, iamashleydawn, Ria, Carey, bebailz123, SammySam, ErnieAlissa, Ezria4evas, Elena, Lisabeth, .mellark, Televison Lover, .dreamers, Sarah Anne, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, Hannah, mrsGLambertxoxo, ConsiousCare, Colby, Auden, Future , Aleighya, cArOlInE, krysty508, Laura, Katherynne, Emmy, LillyWaterButMyNameIsSteed, Gemma Lynne Wess, Melissa, Jenna C, Katie McCall, anonymous, Shaylyn, Cecilia, Issy Bella, Nicole, Dontaskmetosing, All of your obsessed readers, Heidi!**

**That's the most reviews I've had for a single chapter. I'm glad I have you all as fans! So for the next chapter, it's not quite where I wanted to be with it, so it's a little short, but I hope you enjoy it. I just wanted to post something since you are all awesome!**

Aria remembered going in and out of consciousness, but the accident itself was a blur. She didn't know if she felt any pain, but she knew she couldn't keep her eyes open. She heard sirens and peoples' voices. She remembered being asked her name. She tried to say it, but wasn't sure if any words actually came out. As the minutes passed, she was immobilized on a back board and loaded into an ambulance. She remembered on the way to the hospital asking for some water before closing her eyes again.

The next time she opened her eyes, she looking up at a bright light on the ceiling and heard her mother's voice, "Mom."

"Aria! You are awake. We were so worried? How are you feeling?" Ella bombarded her with questions.

Aria couldn't move and realized she was restrained. "Light is bright," she croaked and Ella was quick to dim the light for her daughter. "Can you undo my hands?"

"Sure sweetie." Her mother leaned over and removed the straps holding her hands. Aria was attempting to remove the other straps that help her down, but her mother stopped her, "Aria. You need to leave these ones alone. They want you as still as possible until they can finish all the x-rays and scans."

Aria sighed and laid her arms down, "Fine. Where's Ezra?"

"He's on his way. He wasn't listed as emergency contact so they didn't call him. I was too worried about you to call him first thing, but I called him as soon as I found you were ok." Ella explained.

She blinked several times, trying to keep her eyes from getting dry, "Is he mad about his car?"

"What do you mean?" Ella wondered.

"I was driving his car. I grabbed the wrong keys when I left the house and just took his car." Aria tried to remember what happened.

Ella smiled, "I'm sure he will be fine. Let me go get the nurse and let her know you are awake. I'll be right back."

Aria heard her mother exit the room and a few minutes later heard another pair of footsteps, "Aria. Oh my god, look at you."

"Spencer, you aren't going to get any sleep tonight." Aria laughed.

Spencer leaned over Aria's face, "Like I was going to sleep anyway. You just gave me a night full of stuff to keep me busy. How are you?"

"Well I'm strapped to an uncomfortably hard board and I can't have a drink of water. How are you?" Aria reached for her friend's hand and they sat in silence until Ella entered, accompanied by a nurse.

"Hello there Aria, I'm Glenda. I'm a nurse in the ER. How are you feeling?"

Aria pondered the question for a minute, "Well I have a headache. I am sore everywhere, but I don't seem to have any major pain anywhere."

"Well that's good. Your blood pressure is a little low. We're going to keep an eye on that right now. We're just waiting for the doctor to read your scans and he'll be right in. Can I get you anything?"

Aria smiled, "A drink would be nice. Or at least something to moisten my mouth up."

"Sure. We'll get you something." The nurse returned quickly with a mouth sponge that she could use to moisten her lips. "That's all I can get you until we get you sat up."

Aria was thankful for even that small gesture and felt relief immediately after using the sponge soaked in ice water. She laid there for another ten minutes or so until the doctor came in, "Well hello there. I'm Dr. Vincent and I've been taking care of you. I'd like to ask you some questions and check you over."

"Mom, will you go see if you can locate Ezra?" Aria requested and Ella hurried from the room so the doctor could begin his exam.

The doctor pulled up a stool next to Aria and began removing some of the straps so all that was left still strapped to the board was her torso and her head, "My preliminary review of your scans all look good. I don't see any breaks in your neck or spine and everything looks normal. You do have 4 broken ribs though. I'm just going to do an exam and you do what I say. If there is anything you can't do, just tell me." The doctor began pushing on her legs to see if she could feel everything and asked her to move them in different directions. "Well it looks like everything is working fine. Are you having any pain in your legs?"

"No, nothing more than a little soreness." Aria answered and wiggled her feet around, happy to not be so confined.

Glenda knocked and entered the room, "Doctor, I have her blood work back." She quickly exited after handing him a sheet of paper.

He scanned over the results, "Well, now we have something else to think about. You are pregnant."

"What?" Aria knew she hadn't heard him correctly. She heard Spencer gasp from the corner.

"Your pregnancy test is positive." He stated again.

She wanted to shake her head, "That's not possible."

"When was your last menstrual cycle?"

She thought back, "About three weeks ago."

"How long have you been sexually active?" The doctor was trying to get to the bottom of this.

"Five days."

The doctor gave her a funny look, "Five days?"

Aria was sick of being treated like she was dumb, "Yes. Five days. I got married last week. I hadn't been with anyone else before my husband."

"Ok, well then if pregnancy isn't a possibility, then we'll have to do some more tests. We'll get you set up with an ultrasound in the next few hours." The doctor exited the room and sent Glenda in to get Aria sitting up.

"We're going to have you lay as still as possible until I can get a soft neck collar on you just to help support your head after lying down so long."

As Glenda worked, Aria wondered how long she had been lying down, "What time is it?"

"It's almost four in the morning."

"Spencer, are you still there?" Aria hadn't heard a peep from her friend in quite some time.

Spencer leaned into Aria's view, "Yep. I'm still here."

"Good. I'd hate to think you left me." Aria needed comfort right now, not knowing what was going on.

Glenda and Spencer helped Aria slowly sit up, but the head rush and the pain made Aria start throwing up. Luckily Glenda had a bucket handy. They sat the head of the bed up so Aria could rest back on it. She was thankful to be given a glass of water. Glenda was taking her blood pressure with the machine, "How are you feeling?"

"Really dizzy and a head ache. My neck hurts and my side hurts and I'm nauseous, but considering what could have happened I think I'm fine." Aria tried to joke. She turned to her friend, "Where is Ezra?"

Spencer smiled at her, "We've been keeping him out in the hall until we could get you situated. Are you ready for him now?"

"Yes." Aria stated quietly and Spencer left the room to fetch her friend's husband.

Ezra entered room within moments, "Oh my god. Hun, look at you. I'm so glad you are okay. Your mom wouldn't let me in to see you. It's probably good that I didn't see you on the backboard though."

"You're cute when you worry. Ezra, I'm so sorry about your car." Aria apologized.

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it, "I don't care about the car. I am just glad you weren't seriously injured."

Glenda interrupted, "Well I'll let the doctor know you are sitting and everything looks good so far." She exited, leaving the couple alone.

"How are you doing?" Ezra inquired, looking at the bruises and scrapes covering his wife.

She shrugged, "I'm doing all right. I have 4 broken ribs and I'm sore all over. Don't go too far with that bucket because I may need to throw up again."

"I saw the car on the way here. I thought you were dead." Ezra had tears in his eyes.

Aria smiled, "No such luck."

"That's not funny," he sighed, "So what are they going to do now?"

She shrugged, "I'm not sure exactly. I know they have to do an ultrasound."

"For what? To check for bleeding?" Ezra wondered.

Aria shook her head, "No, they are trying to tell me I'm pregnant."

"P-p-p-pregnant? We're pregnant?" Ezra couldn't believe his ears.

She hated sitting still and wanted to move around. This was an awkward conversation, "No. If I am it wouldn't show up on any test yet. I'm not sure what's going on."

"But what if you are?" He was worried that she'd resent him if she was really pregnant.

"Then I guess we'll have enough room in the new house, won't we?" Aria was beginning to get irritated.

Ezra backed off, "I'm sorry, Hun. I didn't mean anything by it. I just wouldn't want you to be mad at me if you were."

"I wouldn't be mad at you. I'm a consenting adult here too. I would love the baby no matter how badly timed. Let's just relax for a little bit. My head is pounding." Aria rested her head back and let her eyes close.

She was woken up some time later by a new nurse, "Hi, my name is Teresa. I'm the day shift nurse. I just wanted to let you know I am here and that your ultrasound will be in about half an hour."

"Thank you." Aria looked around slowly. Her husband and Spencer were both sleeping, Ezra still sitting next to Aria and resting his head on her bed and Spencer in a chair by the window. Ella was pacing back and forth.

She glanced at her daughter, "Are you pregnant?"

"No, Mom, I'm not." Her daughter stated surely.

Ella motioned out the door, "They are saying your pregnancy test was positive. If that's true you must have had sex before."

"Mom, Ezra and I didn't have sex until Thursday night when I got home. That's the first time, I promise. And I have been on the pill for almost a year." Aria assured her.

Ella shook her head, "Then what else could it be? If your test was positive and you aren't pregnant, what else could cause it?"

"Cancer." Aria replied sarcastically.

Ella's head whipped toward her daughter, "Well then let's hope it's a baby."

Aria chuckled but the sudden movement caused her to throw up again. Ezra was awake by the time she was finished, "Are you ok? Do you need something?"

"I'm fine. Just moved too fast is all. Maybe some more water." Aria leaned her head back again while Ezra was gone. He got her a large glass of ice water. "That's the best water I've ever had."

A little while later, Teresa came in to take Aria for her ultrasound. Ezra insisted on going along, "If there is a baby in there, I don't want to miss a second of this."

They got Aria situated on the ultrasound bed and began the scan. They technician hadn't said anything, but excused himself a few minutes after beginning the scan. Dr. Vincent entered in the technician's place, "Well then, let's see what we have." He looked around for a few minutes, "It looks like you have a growth on your right ovary. It looks like it's the size of a lemon. Have you been having any pain there recently?"

She shook her head, "No. None that I can remember. What does the growth mean?"

"In most cases, a mass like this that indicates a high HCG level indicates a tumor," the doctor explained solemnly, "We will need to get you in for surgery to remove what we can of the mass and check for cancer cells."

Aria couldn't believe her joke earlier had turned into a real scenario. She stayed quiet the whole way back to her room. Ezra explained to Ella and Spencer what the doctor had found. Ella was crying and Spencer hurried to comfort her friend. "Oh my god Aria. Don't worry. You'll be ok. This is nothing to worry about."

"Can I have some time alone?" Aria was trying not to cry in front of anyone. She needed some time to think.

Ella and Spencer hugged her and headed out the door. Ezra hung back, "Can I get you anything?"

"No. I just need to handle this. I love you." Aria sighed and turned away from him.

He approached her and sat next to her on the bed. He pulled her face around to look her in the eyes, "You don't have to go through this alone. You've got your family and your friends. You have me. I'm here for you no matter what."

"But what if I've just ruined your life. I mean we just got married and now I may not even have long to live. And if I do have time, what if we can never have kids?" Aria began sobbing and buried her face into Ezra's chest.

He held her close to him, "Hey. You are going to live forever. A lot longer than me anyway. And if it happens that we can't have kids, we'll just cross that road when we get to it. Right now, we just need to get you better."

"Why do you care about me so much?" Aria sniffled.

"Because," he kissed her gently, "you are my soul mate. If you weren't here I wouldn't survive long. I love you more than anything or anyone."

Aria snuggled against him as she cried. She was asleep by the time the doctor returned, "There's no need to wake her just yet. I was just going to let you know that her surgery is scheduled for 4 o'clock this afternoon. We'll be moving her from the ER to a regular room in the next half hour or so. Then they will prep her for surgery. It's in her chart, but make sure she doesn't eat or drink anything more than small sips of water. We're also going to need her insurance information." He handed Ezra a form before exiting the room.

Ezra hadn't thought about insurance at all. He had Spencer, Emily, and Hanna, who arrived while Aria was napping, sit with her while he called his insurance company to see what needed to be done to add Aria onto his health insurance. When he returned, Aria was awake and chatting with her friends. "Hey, where did you go?"

"I was just on the phone with my insurance company. I was trying to get you some health insurance." He sat in the chair next to the window, "Bad news is there is nothing we can do right now. Good news is we have 90 days from the wedding to add you and they'll cover everything as long as it's in that time frame. I have to fill out the paper work tomorrow. We'll be fine."

Aria gave him a half smile, "That's good. Why don't you go freshen up? Go take a nap or get something to eat. There's no point in you sitting around here worrying. They'll be moving me to my room soon and then surgery."

"Ok. I'll go for a little bit, but I'll definitely be back before your surgery. I love you." He kissed her and left the girls alone to talk.

Soon Aria was moved to a regular room and was being prepped for surgery. The unit nurse began giving her more fluids through her IV, "Is there anything you need?"

"I'm actually starting to feel a lot of pain." Aria couldn't sit up her muscles were tensing up so much.

The nurse smiled, "I'll bring you something for the pain. We want you to relax before your surgery."

Hanna had been quiet since she arrived and when Spencer and Emily went to the cafeteria, Hanna sat next to Aria and sighed, "How are you doing?"

"I don't know Han, but I'm glad we're alone. I know something is bothering you." Aria was getting tired from the lack of sleep and the chaos that made up her night.

She shrugged, "It's nothing."

"Bull. I know you well enough to know when you are thinking about something. What's going on?"

Hanna looked toward the door, "Do you promise not to say anything to the girls? Not yet anyway."

"You know I'd never tell them anything you didn't want me to." Aria reached out and took her friend's hand.

"Well, when Spence was telling me what was going on and they thought you were pregnant at first, I was really happy." Hanna admitted.

Aria shrugged, "Ok, that's understandable. But what's wrong?"

"I was happy because then I wouldn't be going through it alone." Hanna replied quietly.

It took Aria a few minutes to register what her friend was confessing, "Oh my god, Han. You're pregnant."

"Guilty." Hanna scoffed.

Aria pulled her friend into a tight hug, "No matter what, you won't be going through this alone. I'm here for you and I know the girls will be behind you 100 percent. Does Caleb know?"

Hanna nodded, "Yeah, he knows. He went to the doctor with me. I'm only about 6 weeks along. It was such a shock. We've been careful. I just don't know what I'm going to do. Caleb says he'll drop out and get a job so we have the extra money now, but I told him school is only a few more months and its better he graduate. He says he's still going to find a job after school. Since he's 18 he's got a lot more opportunities. He promised he'd take care of me and our baby."

"I knew he wasn't a bad guy." Aria smiled. They chatted a few more minutes about the baby and the future when there was a knock and the door opened.

Ezra's face brightened Aria's day instantly, "Hey. I see you found me."

"I'm like a blood-hound. I just followed your scent." He chuckled and set a bag down on the tray table.

Hanna chuckled, "That's pretty bizarre, Mr. Fitz."

"You know Hanna, when we aren't in school, you can call me Ezra," he commented.

She nodded, "I know, but I'm still adjusting to that."

Aria glanced at the bag, "What did you bring me?"

"Why do you assume it's something for you?" Ezra gave her a smile.

She crossed her arms, "Because I'm going in for surgery. I would think you'd bring me something."

Ezra's smile faltered, but he unzipped the bag and began pulling things out, "Well I brought the papers I need to finish grading, a couple of puzzle books and my iPod for the wait, and a few packs of good instant coffee so I don't have to drink the hospital's junk."

"Really?" Aria felt hurt, but smiled as her handed her a pair of fuzzy socks.

He laughed at her reaction, "You'd think I'd just given you the moon."

"I love fuzzy socks," she hummed as she rubbed them on her cheek.

Ezra explained the rest of the bag's contents, "I also brought your toiletries, your robe from your mother's house, some panties, and a few other things I thought you might need.

Hanna burst out in a fit of giggles, "You said panties!"

She continued laughing as Spencer and Emily entered. Emily glanced around the room, "I thought I heard something about panties."

"Mr. Fitz said the word panties." Hanna cackled with laughter.

No one else found it as amusing until Ezra shrugged, "What's wrong with me saying panties?"

Spencer and Emily joined in with Hanna's laughter as Aria cuddled with her perplexed husband, "I'll explain it later."

He suddenly realized why they were laughing, "It's because I'm a teacher, huh?"

"Ding ding, we have a winner!" Emily joked.

Not too long after Ezra arrived, the nurse came in to take Aria to the operating room, "Are you going to stay here or are you going to the recovery room to wait?" She helped Aria into a wheelchair as her friends said they would stay there and wait.

"I'm going to the recovery room." Ezra followed as the nurse wheeled Aria down the hall. They took the elevator down two floors and came out in front of the recovery room.

The nurse motioned to a door next to it, "That's the waiting room. As soon as she is out of surgery, we'll come get you and take you into the recovery room."

"Thanks," he turned to Aria, "I love you so much. You are going to be just fine, and I'll be here when you wake up."

She pulled him to her and kissed him, "I love you. I'll see you in a little while." Aria waved meekly as the nurse wheeled her through the double doors at the end of the hall. Ezra approached the chair in front of the television, but couldn't focus on anything on the screen. It seemed like only minutes before he was approached by a man in surgical scrubs, "Mr. Fitz? I'm Dr. Parks. I operated on your wife."

"Yes, how is Aria?" He stood and rocked on his feet nervously.

He smiled, "She did well. They are moving her into recovery now. I'll take you back there in a few minutes."

"How was the surgery?" Ezra inquired.

"We were able to remove the entire mass and we were able to leave the ovary for now. Unfortunately it may not function normally anymore and we may have to remove it at a later date. That's something that we will just have to wait and see about." the doctor explained.

Ezra took a deep breath, "Is it Cancer?"

**Go ahead and hate me. I know. Another cliffhanger. Sorry. Like I said the rest of the chapter isn't done yet. So you get the first bit. I love you all for reviewing and I hope you keep it up over the long holiday weekend. I'll update as soon as I can. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Thank you to all my reviewer: Televison Lover, MzPink4, HarrylovesGinny09, Bailey, Kate, Ria, bebailz123, Arianna, Jack, randomness 101-Fanfic Freak, Leah, Gemma Lynne Wess, Carey, Lisabeth, Auden, Katie McCall, Heidi, ErnayAlissa, Colby, RandomGuyNamed Sean (I'd have to know about you before I agree to marraige lol), Emmy, MrsFitz, gawjus, msbookworm93, AddictedtoFICS, Hannah, 3murphytoddlers, .mellark, brandi, Jreader, SolitudeMyLove, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, iamashleydawn, ., krysty508, .dreamers, raybug, Sarah Anne, Sophie, Nicole, Elena, Ezria4evas, Cecilia, Dontaskmetosing, iBT, prettyFunnyButAlwaysCute, Laura**

**You guys are amazing. Sorry it took a little longer to get this up and going. I'm having some inspiration issues and all my best writing is done while everyone else is asleep and I've been going to bed earlier than normal so I need to find a better time to write. But I hope you do like it!**

Dr. Parks sighed, "I can't say. We have sent the mass out for a biopsy. We should have the results within a week."

"A week? We have to wait a whole week to find out if my wife has Cancer?"

The doctor sighed, "I'm very sorry. I know that is an eternity, but we want to be thorough. We may have preliminary results by tomorrow, but they aren't accurate enough to give you an idea of what we're dealing with. They are only right 65% of the time. It's best to wait for the actual lab results."

"But in your best guess, do you think it is Cancer? I just want to know the odds." Ezra didn't want to be coddled.

He opened his mouth, shut it, and opened it again, "In my best guess, I don't think it is. I think it's just a very large cyst. But I only have a 50 percent chance of being right. I have been wrong before."

"Thank you. So best case scenario, if it is only a cyst, what would the future bring?" He wanted to get as much information as he could get so he could tell Aria everything she would have questions about.

"Well, since she had no symptoms with this mass, it would mean regular blood draws and ultrasounds to ensure that if there are any further masses we catch them as early as possible. That doesn't mean she can't live a completely normal life."

Ezra nodded in understanding, "Ok, so on the other side of that, what if it is Cancer?"

"As I said before, we removed the entire mass and we saw no other masses in the abdominal area. Chemotherapy may be an option, but I feel it wouldn't be very beneficial at this stage. If you were considering children in the future the best thing to do would be to harvest and freeze some of her eggs, in case we have to remove part or all of her reproductive system in the future." Dr. Parks explained carefully, not wanting to upset the man in front of him.

To his surprise, Ezra smiled and shook the doctor's hand, "Thank you. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the biopsy results are."

"Exactly. I'll escort you back to your wife now and I will be by probably around eleven in the morning tomorrow to go over her discharge instructions." Dr. Parks took Ezra to his wife's side and excused himself from the room.

Ezra sat by his motionless wife's side as the blood pressure machine took readings every few minutes. The heart and oxygen monitors beeped steadily and pretty soon, Aria began to stir. She coughed, and moaned from the incision pain, "Ezra?"

He took her hand, "I'm right here Hun. How are you feeling?"

"Sore. Thirsty." Aria replied with a gravelly voice.

He brushed her hair away from her face, "Let me get you a drink." He returned a few minutes later without any water. "Aria, the nurse told me we have to give you a few more minutes to wake up before we get you water. We don't want you to choke."

"Good call," she croaked.

After about an hour in the recovery room, Aria was taken by stretcher back to her regular room to find her parents, her brother, and her friends waiting for her. The nurse asked her father and brother to leave the room while they got her moved to her bed. "I have to pee." Ezra helped Aria walk to the bathroom and stood outside the door until she was done.

He helped her get positioned comfortably in bed then allowed Byron and Mike to reenter. She was dozing in and out of consciousness while everyone talked around her. Ezra filled everyone in on what the doctor explained to him. Ella sighed, "It's going to be a long week."

Over the sixteen hours, everyone slept in shifts, but no one left. One of the nurses told them they would have to go until morning, but Byron stepped in and had a not-so-subtle conversation with her. She didn't say another word to any of them all night. When the doctor arrived in the morning with the preliminary results of the biopsy, everyone but Ezra and Aria waited in the hall, "I thought you didn't like to give out the preliminary results."

"I had to share these with you. There's only about a 2% chance these are wrong. I have to say that I think I was right in my original diagnosis. You had a cyst on your ovary and it is not malignant. I'm sure you are going to be fine." Dr. Parks explained with a huge smile on his face.

Aria and her husband shared a hug, "That's amazing news. When can I go home?"

"This afternoon if you are ready. We just have to check your incision quickly and get your discharge papers organized. I'll be in to go over a few things before you leave." He exited the room and everyone who was waiting filed in.

Ella looked at her daughter expectantly, "Well what did he say?"

"The full results won't be in for a week, but he says the preliminary results are about 98% accurate in this case. It was a cyst. I'm going to be just fine." Aria was so happy that the possibility of Cancer was getting smaller.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and hugged Aria in turn. Hanna leaned close, "When everyone else clears out, I'll tell the girls about my secret."

Aria nodded and shook her head while directing her attention toward the nurse that entered, "Well it seems we have something to celebrate. I'm so glad you got good news. I'm just going to sit down with you here to fill these papers out and go over everything about post-surgical care at home."

"Ok," Aria turned toward her guests, "Ezra, will you go home and get me some clean clothes to wear? Mom, why don't you guys go home? I'll be leaving in a couple hours anyway and the girls can keep me company until Ezra gets back."

They all said their goodbyes, leaving Aria and her friends with the nurse. She went over the cleaning process for the incision sites and when to return for a follow-up appointment. The nurse heard her name overheard and returned to the nurses' station to take a phone call. Aria looked to Hanna and gave her a reassuring smile.

Hanna cleared her throat, "I have something to tell you guys. The real reason I'm staying in Rosewood."

"You and Caleb are getting married?" Emily guessed.

She sighed, "I'm pregnant."

Emily and Spencer squealed and assaulted there friend with a group hug, "Aria, why aren't you freaking out with us?"

"Because she knew. I told her last night. I was upset when she wasn't pregnant because I thought it would be fun to have our babies together. I told you guys first thing though. Caleb and my mom are the only other ones that know." Hanna reassured her friends they weren't in the dark for long.

Aria tugged on her friend's arm, "Han, can I tell Ezra? I know it's going to be a hot topic in my house and I just want to give him the heads up."

"That's fine. I don't want a lot of people knowing right now though. If you want to tell Toby and Paige that's fine, but you have to swear them to secrecy." Hanna gave them a light-hearted warning.

The nurse returned from her phone call, "That was Dr. Parks office. He had to go into emergency surgery. He won't be able to come see you before you leave. Do you want me to get another doctor to go over this with you or are you all set?"

"I'm fine. If I have any questions I can call. My husband just went to get me some clothes but I'm sure he'll be back soon." Aria glanced at the clock.

She smiled at her young patient, "That's fine. Let's just remove your IV and get you unhooked from the heart monitor while we wait. After he gets here and you are ready to go, just ring your buzzer and we'll sign the last of the papers.

She exited the room and Aria extended her hand toward Spencer, "Will you help me up? I need the bathroom and I want to stretch my legs before Ezra gets here."

It wasn't quite an hour later when Ezra returned, "Sorry it took me so long?"

"Where did you go for clothes? The city?" Aria joked as she examined what he brought her.

He shook his head, "No, but all your clothes at the apartment need to be washed. You were wearing the last set you packed for the honeymoon when you had the accident. I had to go to the house to get you a few things, then I stopped at the store to pick up a few things that you really like to eat so we don't have to stop to the store on our way home and I won't have to leave you later."

"I appreciate the thought, but we're either going to have to stop or you'll have to leave later so I can get my prescription filled." Aria took her clothes to the bathroom and returned a few minutes later wearing her t-shirt and his sweatpants.

He smiled, "I figured you wouldn't want anything tight on the incision area right now, so I brought you something I knew you'd be comfortable in."

"And I look adorable." Aria chuckled lightly while holding her abdomen, "Can we go home?"

Ezra nodded and hit her call bell to let the nurse know she was ready. A few minutes later they were on the way out the front door. They wanted to wheel her out, but Aria refused and wanted to walk. "So do you want to stop to the store now or are you going to send me out later to get your prescription?"

"Let's just go now. It'll only take a few minutes and I can pick up a few extra things." When they arrived at the car, Aria was confused, "Whose car is this?"

He unlocked the car and held the door open for Aria, "This is the rental I got from the insurance company. I figured it might be obvious if I was driving your car around." He climbed into the driver's seat and pulled slowly out of the parking lot, "Which brings us to what to tell people when they find out you were driving my car."

"I've already thought of a decent answer for that. We'll say I was on my way to the hospital after Spencer called me and I got a flat tire. My spare was flat too and my parents weren't answering. You were going home from a quick trip to the store and found me alongside the road crying. You let me take your car to get to Spencer while you used your spare on my car and we were going to switch at school in the morning. I know it's not the best scenario, but it's all I could come up with." Aria shrugged.

He smiled, "That's a really good story actually. I think it'll go over fairly well. I'm a sucker for criers anyway."

When they pulled into the store's parking lot, Aria told him to stay in the car, "I'll be fine, but we don't want to draw any more attention to ourselves. We are really going to have to start being more careful about going out together. If I absolutely need you, I'll call." She grabbed her purse and slowly made her way across the walkway.

After fifteen minutes, Ezra was about to go look for his wife, but spotted her pushing a small cart toward him. He got out of the car and unloaded her purchases while she maneuvered herself back into the car. When he climbed in and looked at her, he was extremely concerned, "Aria, what's wrong?"

She had head eyes closed and her head leaned back, "Just dizzy."

Ezra drove carefully the remaining few miles to the apartment. She wanted to walk but he insisted on carrying her up the stairs. She complained, but was grateful. She felt very weak. He set her down carefully on the couch and went to retrieve the groceries from the car. When he returned she was no longer on the couch. He went to the back of the apartment to find her sick in the bathroom. "Can I do anything?"

She waved her hand, "Just go. You don't have to watch this."

"I know I don't, but I'm not going anywhere." He soothed her and rubbed her back until the sickness subsided. Then he stood by her side while she brushed her teeth and helped her get into bed. "I'm going to go put away the groceries and fix something to eat. Do you want anything?"

She sighed, "I don't think I want anything big. I think I only got sick because I'm so dizzy. Maybe just some chicken broth with noodles."

He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, "Anything you want. I'll be back soon."

"And juice!" Aria called from her the bedroom.

When Ezra returned about ten minutes later, Aria was having some problems breathing. He rushed to her side, "Aria, do we need to go back to the hospital?"

She shook her head and gasped, "No. I need to sit up further."

He helped her sit up while stuffing every pillow in the house behind her, "Better?"

"Yes," she stated, able to catch her breath, "but I'm in a lot of pain. I'm really starting to feel the broken ribs. Can you get my purse and the bag from the hospital?"

He hurried to the living room and returned with both bags. Aria ruffled through the hospital bag and pulled out a plastic apparatus with a hose, "What's that?"

"It's to make sure I'm taking deep breaths. I'll use it after the pain meds kick in." Aria set it on the bedside stand and reached for her purse. She clutched at her chest, "Ezra, can you hand me my purse?" He set the bag on his wife's lap while she caught her breath.

He looked as if he was going to cry, "I hate seeing you like this."

"I'll be fine. No worries. If you'd rather I go stay at Spencer's I'm sure she would be glad to help." Aria chuckled at the horrified look on his face, "I was kidding." She pulled out several different prescriptions from her purse.

Ezra peeked into her purse, "Are you going to pull out the pharmacy next?"

"No. I need all these. This one is for lots of pain. This one is for moderate pain. This is for nausea since I've been throwing up a lot. This one is to help me sleep. This is an antibiotic. This is an ointment for my incisions in a few days when I take the bandages off. And this is a muscle relaxer. In case I need it for the minor whiplash from the accident. Can you do me a favor?" Aria rattled everything off so fast Ezra didn't hear her request, "Ezra?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. What do you need Hun?" Ezra apologized.

She chuckled lightly so as not to hurt herself, "Well two things. First will you call the hospital and see if I can get a doctor's note for school? Second, if I call my mom will you go over there and pick up a few extra pillows? I seem to have taken all we have and these couch pillows won't be very comfortable to sleep on."

"Sure. Why don't you call your mom while I call the hospital?" Ezra went to grab the phonebook since he didn't know the hospital's number. Aria had finished her conversation, taken her medication, and started eating her noodles by the time he returned.

He smiled when he saw her getting something in her stomach, "They said they'll have a note waiting at the desk that I can pick up in half an hour. Is there anything else you need while I'm out?"

"Popsicles?" Aria requested hopefully.

Ezra kissed her softly, "Sure. I love you and I'll be back soon."

"Will you grab me the small garbage can in the bathroom before you go, just in case?" Aria didn't want to get sick again, but figured she'd be prepared.

He retrieved it quickly, "Here you go. I'll be back as soon as I can. You call if you need anything. Okay?"

"Okay. I love you." Aria blew him a kiss as her exited the bedroom.

Ezra hadn't even been gone 10 minutes when Aria set he bowl on the stand and settled in for a nap.

Almost an hour later, Ezra returned with an armload of pillows and three different kinds of popsicles. He was concerned that Aria didn't answer his texts or calls. He dropped the pillows on the couch and stuffed the popsicles in the freezer before checking on his wife. As he suspected, she'd fallen asleep. He wasn't going to wake her, so he cleared off his side of the bed and laid down next to her. He hadn't gotten proper sleep in a few days, so he fell asleep quickly with his wife safely by his side.

**Thank you for reading this chapter! I didn't spell or grammar check this one as much as I normally do but I wanted to upload. PLEASE review and let me know what you think. I'll be working hard to get the next chapter finished for you all!**


	20. Chapter 20

**So I know after this amount of time you are expecting a chapter no shorter than a novel, but I must disappoint you. I know that it's been a little while and you are probably all mad and ready to burn me at the stake, but I do have a few good reasons. **

**Mainly, the weather has just been so amazing that I had to spend some time outside which kicked my allergies into high gear, causing a two week long bout of bronchitis. Isn't spring wonderful? Lost power for three days due to the storms and also had to help my mom clean her attic and basement since everyone else in the house disappears when she grabs a broom. I know that last part is lame, but I really was very sick. **

**I hope you like this chapter. A lot of you were asking about something like this and just know there is more to come.**

**Thanks to my reviewers: ., HarrylovesGinny09, MzPink4, sdlover21, SolitudeMyLove, iBreakTradition, krysty508, Bailey, .dreamers, jessklove, .mellark, ConsiousCare, atyForYou, iamashleydawn, Hannah, krysty508, bebailz123, RandomGuyNamedSean- I'm engaged, not married. There's still time to change my mind ;), Leah, Lisabeth, Auden, Ariana, carey, Elisabeth, Shookenup, ily**

The next week seemed to fly by for Aria and Ezra. Aria was cleared to go back to school on Monday, with the strict understanding that gym class was to be avoided. Anyone that asked about why she had Ezra's car took the story they created as the truth. Everyone was just glad Aria was all right. Instead of sitting around the school during her last period gym class, Aria signed out early everyday to continue packing up the apartment and getting things ready to move. The routine they fell into worked well. Aria packed while Ezra was still in school, then he'd come home and carry the boxes to the car and move them to the house. Then Aria would have dinner halfway done by the time he returned home. They'd spend the rest of the evening doing homework, watching old movies, or packing the things that were beyond Aria's lifting restrictions.

On Thursday afternoon, as Aria was finishing packing the last of Ezra's books, her cell phone rang, displaying a number that was only vaguely familiar,

"Hello?"

'Hello, this is Dr. Parks. I'm looking for Aria Fitz.'

"This is her."

'Aria, I just wanted to call and tell you the news in person. I got the final lab results and there was no trace of any cancer cells.'

"That's wonderful news. I am so relieved. What do I do now?"

'As long as you aren't having any problems from the surgery, I'll want to see you in 3 weeks to do another scan and just check you over.'

"No, I feel great. I'll check my schedule and call your office to make an appointment. Thank you for calling. Goodbye."

Aria hung up the phone feeling great. She knew that she didn't have cancer, but hearing the concrete results was definitely wonderful. Instead of starting another box, Aria went to change and get ready for dinner. This was the last night Aria was really going to be able to see her parents before they left for New York. They weren't leaving until Saturday morning, but all of Friday afternoon they were going to be loading up the moving truck and Ella decided they should all have one last dinner together.

Ezra arrived home later than he usually did, "Hun, where are you? I need to talk to you."

"I'm in here," she called from the bedroom, "just getting ready for dinner."

He entered the bedroom, looking pale, "We need to talk. Can you come sit with me for a minute. He steadied himself on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath.

She joined him, studying his face with her own look of concern, "What's wrong?"

"Well. I was getting ready to leave. I was packing some papers into my bag when Lisa walked in. Lisa Glossenger. I didn't realize it at first, but she was hitting on me. She wanted me to go out with her this weekend. I told her that I couldn't. I didn't specify. It wasn't that I didn't want to tell her, but I knew we had things to do tonight, so I just told her that she was nice, but no. Then she saw my ring. She didn't know I had gotten married. She wanted to know who she was. I made someone up. I said she lived in the city and traveled a lot for work. She was upset I think. I'm not a very good judge…"

Aria couldn't let him continue to ramble, so she covered his mouth with hers. When she pulled away, she chuckled at the dumbfounded look on his face, "What was the point of your whole story?"

"I was just letting you know that you may hear something about me being married to a woman from the city and that I only love you." Ezra smiled at his wife and was thankful she was not the jealous type. She kissed him again and resumed dressing. She returned to Ezra requesting his help with the zipper. He began rubbing his hands on her lower back, "You are so soft."

She smiled, but scolded him, "Please Ezra. We have dinner with my parents in half an hour and you have boxes to load. Besides, I don't think I'm up for it yet. As much as I want to, believe me I do, I just don't think I'm ready yet. You aren't mad at me, are you?"

"Of course I'm not mad," he zipped her dress, "I don't want to make love to you if we both can't enjoy it. I'm just not that guy. Besides, the doctor said no sex at least until after he sees you again." He kissed her quickly and hurried to load the car. Within fifteen minutes, they were heading toward her parents' house. After Saturday, it would be their house. Aria still wasn't sure what they'd do with all that room, but it was cheaper than their cramped apartment.

They left the boxes in the car for the time being. Being the middle of February, the wind chill was below zero that evening and they hurried to get inside. Aria was greeted by the smell of her mother's cooking. She would miss that. They hung up their coats and kicked off their shoes in the entry way. Aria was wearing leggings under a loose dress. Her jeans were still uncomfortable with the incision.

They five of them had a nice dinner and a very light conversation. No one wanted to face the goodbyes that would follow in the next few days. Ezra carried the carload of boxes in the house while Aria helped her mother load the dishwasher. Then they headed for home to do continue their usual routine. Halfway through her math homework Aria groaned. Ezra jumped at the sudden outburst, "Yes dear?"

"We've been married a week and a half and we already have a routine." Aria rolled her eyes and chuckled.

He gave her an awkward look, "Is that a bad thing?"

"No, I just can't wait until I'm able to do things again." Aria complained. She wasn't really one to complain about pain, but not being able to completely take care of herself was really beginning to bother her.

Ezra got a mischievous look on his face, "Like what things?"

"Like stretching to reach things on the top shelf of the cupboard, bending over and standing up without getting dizzy, and just not being tired constantly." Aria was growing frustrated.

"Oh," Ezra's grin faded.

Aria sighed and slid across the couch onto Ezra's lap, "Well of course there's that. But you already know that." She grew quiet and quickly covered his mouth with hers. She wanted him. She felt like a caged animal. After a few minutes, Ezra pulled away.

"We can't do this." He sighed and rested his head on her shoulder.

She nibbled on his ear, "We can if we're careful."

He shook his head and slid her off his lap, "I can't. Not until the doctor clears it. I just can't. It's not you. I want you bad. But the thought that I could really hurt you is keeping my libido quiet. I'm sorry." He couldn't look at the disappointed look on his wife's face so he retreated to the bedroom to turn in for the night.

Half an hour later Ezra was settled in bed and Aria was still in the living room. He wanted to talk to her, but at the same time, he felt like he should give her space. He decided she'd come to bed when she was ready and flicked off the light. A little while later, Ezra was still awake in the darkness as Aria finally joined him in bed. She snuggled up tight to his back and he knew she was aware that he was still awake, "Are you mad at me?"

Ezra turned toward her, "No. Of course I'm not. I thought you were mad at me."

"I'm mad at me. I love you. I can't imagine my life without you, but I don't like being taken care of. I like being able to do things on my own. I don't like that my body is preventing me from doing anything. I'll be fine when everything goes back to normal." Aria sank into Ezra's strong embrace.

He chuckled, "Just think of this as a trade off. I'll take care of you now, because when I get a cold, I turn into a pathetic little whiny man."

"I love you Ezra." Aria began drifting away from consciousness.

He kissed her cheek, "I love you. Good night."

The next day in English class, Mrs. Glossenger had news about the scholarship, "I'm so glad you are here Aria. I've got great news. The scholarship committee is letting you pick which school you want to attend and if it's on their list, they'll give you the scholarship to that school! You should go call them now. I'll write you a pass."

Before Aria could even reply, she was being shoved out the door. She hurried to the library to use the phone. After being on hold for several minutes, Aria was able to speak to a person. "Hi. I'm calling about the scholarship. My English teacher told me to call about getting the scholarship to a different school. Aria Montgomery. I'm going to be attending the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I did. That's the best news I've ever heard. Thank you so much. I will. Thank you. Goodbye."

Aria practically skipped back to her English class. Mrs. Glossenger was waiting, "Well what did they say?"

"I've got a full ride to the U of PA!" Aria couldn't contain herself as the class began clapping for her.

Her teacher hugged her, "That's wonderful. I'm so glad it worked out for you." The rest of the class passed quickly and Aria couldn't wait to tell Ezra and her friends. Mrs. Glossenger caught up with Aria on her way to Ezra's classroom, "I'll walk with you and write you a note to your next class."

Aria and Mrs. Glossenger entered Ezra's empty classroom. Aria looked around, "Where are your students?"

"Oh, most of them went on college fair trip. I sent the three that were left to the library for the day. No point in teaching anything. What can I do for you ladies?" Ezra was cute when he grinned like that.

Mrs. Glossenger smiled, "Aria got some news about the scholarship she won."

"Oh really. What did they say?" He was trying not to let his excitement show.

Aria smiled, "I got the full scholarship to the University of PA. I'm staying here and not going to California."

She was shocked when Ezra wrapped his arms around her in a hug, "That's amazing! I knew you could do it." Suddenly he seemed to remember they weren't alone. It was too late though. Mrs. Glossenger had caught on.

She walked quickly toward the door, closed it, and returned to her previous spot, "Care to explain?"

"Lisa, it's not like that." Ezra tried to blow off the awkward hug.

She gave him a skeptical look and crossed her arms, "It's not like what? That you and Aria fell in love and secretly got married and now you are trying to keep it a secret. You aren't doing a very good job."

Ezra and Aria exchanged an intense glance. She was the first to speak, "What would you have said if you had been wrong?"

"I knew I wasn't wrong. What in the world were you thinking? This is wrong." She didn't know what to say at this point.

"Lisa," Ezra needed to secure Aria's future, "please don't do anything to jeopardize Aria finishing school. I'll resign today if that's what you want, but please leave her out of this."

She turned from Aria to Ezra, "I wouldn't do anything to either of you. You quitting won't do anyone any good. Just tell me this wasn't inappropriate. I'd like to believe better than that about you both."

"Mrs. Glossenger, we tried to fight our feelings for each other from the day I became his student. We met when he was Ezra, college graduate and I was Aria, freshly back from Iceland and illegally drinking in a bar. He had no idea I was only sixteen. We have kept our relationship at arm's length since then. But when you find the one person you are supposed to be with though, it's really hard to not be with that person. We were married last weekend. We weren't going to until this summer, but my parents are moving and no one, including us, wanted us to live together before we were married." Aria was nervous, but at the same time a little relieved that someone else knew.

For the first time since the conversation started, Lisa smiled, "That is a relief at least. You are going to have to be more careful though. If I figured it out I'm sure other people will too."

"Thank you for understanding. We didn't stand a chance." Ezra smiled and brushed his finger down Aria's arm.

Mrs. Glossenger sighed, "Like I said, you have to be more careful. I love your writing Aria, and I know you can go far. I want to help. Where are the two of you living?"

"We're living in my apartment right now. This weekend we are moving into Aria's house." Ezra explained.

The other woman looked thoughtful, "Well I know that you obviously want to be together. How far away is the apartment from the house?"

Aria paused, "About 10 minutes by car."

"So walking between the two places isn't an option. And we don't want anyone to see you in the same car so…"

Ezra cut her off, "Why are you so worried about helping us? I thought you hated the idea."

"Well, it is inappropriate, but I think I know the two of you well enough that I think you are perfect for each other. I guess I secretly think it's kind of romantic." Mrs. Glossenger glanced at the clock and scribbled a note on a piece of paper, "Aria, you should probably get back to class. Here's a note. I need to think about this a little while."

Aria sighed and headed for the door. Once she was out of sight, Lisa continued her conversation with Ezra, "You've been seeing each other for almost two years?"

"Yeah. I mean we've been more than a student-teacher for almost two years. Intimacy was never on our priority list." Ezra smiled, "She gets me in a way that no one else ever has. As cliché as this sounds, we are definitely two puzzle pieces that fix perfectly with each other."

The woman chuckled, "You are grinning like an idiot. How in the world did you keep it a secret this long?"

"It wasn't that hard. I can see how we've become careless about the whole situation. Before she was 18, it was vital that no one know about any relationship we had, however innocent it was. Then she turned 18 and it wasn't as bad. I could be fired, but not arrested even though we weren't doing anything wrong. Then her mother told us she knew and it was like a gigantic weight was lifted. After that I know we weren't as cautious as we should have been. I just don't know what we are going to do once we're living in Aria's house together. I knew it would be difficult to hide but…" He let that sentence fade, "Aria told me that if it got too hard to hide, she would just finish her last marking period online. It's a state program so no one could tell us we couldn't be together. I can't destroy her senior year like that. She's got prom and senior trip coming up. They are memories I can't take away from her. I'd rather live apart for the next few months, which I know she won't agree to."

Lisa smiled and patter Ezra's shoulder, "Well I'm here to help you. I'll let you know if I come up with anything. Just be careful. I don't care how legal it is. Stevens will do anything to blow this up."

"How do you know?" Ezra looked at her thoughtfully.

She shook her head and headed out the door. Before making her way down the hall, she scoffed, "I dated him."

**So like I said I know it's short but I hope you can forgive me. I plan on updating again soon. Don't think I forgot about Granny Fitz. She'll be coming up in the next chapter. And please, please, PLEASE review. Good or bad I want to know what you think. **


	21. Chapter 21

**OK! I'm so sorry for not updating for so long. I was kind of in a rut and wasn't sure what to do with my this story. Also I just found a box that had a ton of my old stories and I've been reading through them.**

**Thanks to my reviewers: silvioforever, MzPink4, csifan35, HarrylovesGinny09, crazyatbest, raybug, SolitudeMyLove, Bailey, Lisabeth, Carey, Arianna, Auden, RandomGuyNamedSean, .dreamers, Televison Lover, msbookworm93, AddictedtoFICS, bite-me-im-irish, lalala17, anonymous**

**I hope you are all still with me and I hope you forgive me for being such a jerk. I tried to make this a longer chapter. It's not as long as I would have liked, but here it is anyway.**

As much as Aria tried to concentrate on her classes, she couldn't get past the conversation with Ezra and her English teacher. She needed to speak with the gym teacher during lunch, so speaking with her friends had to be postponed. She sent them all a text and asked if they would meet her at the coffee shop after school.

At four o'clock, Aria was the last to arrive. Emily chuckled, "This is your meeting and you are late. What's up?"

"We've got a problem." Aria slid into the booth next to Hannah.

The blonde rested her hand on Aria's shoulder, "What happened?"

She sighed, "Someone figured Ezra and I out."

"Who?" the girls asked in unison.

Aria leaned in closer, "Mrs. Glossenger. She knows."

"How did she find out?" Spencer questioned with an intense look on her face.

"Because she's not stupid and Ezra's an idiot." Aria crossed her arms.

Hanna gasped, "What happened?"

Aria went through the process of explaining to her friends what had transpired between Mrs. Glossenger, Ezra, and herself. When she finished, no one had anything to say. When a minute went by, Aria shrugged, "What?"

"Well it has been a little obvious there is something there." Emily tried to reply quietly.

Aria was shocked, "What do you mean? Why didn't you guys tell me?"

"We just thought it was us. We get your moods and we thought maybe our perception of your relationship was heightened since the hospital and the wedding. But after we thought about it, maybe it wasn't just us." Spencer explained rationally.

The newlywed crossed her arms and leaned in closer, "Well it would have been nice if you had told me. Luckily the principal hasn't asked to see us. Again. I'm so sick of dealing with him. I wish I could just finish my classes online then it wouldn't be anyone's business."

Hanna gave Aria a concerned look, "You're not going to do that, are you? We all want to graduate together. If you do online classes you won't be on stage with us."

Aria reluctantly smiled, "Of course I am going to keep going to Rosewood. I just wish things could be easier."

"I all honesty, you knew this was going to be really hard when you started all this." Emily nudged her.

Aria shook her head, "No, not when this started. When it started we were in a bar making out. The next day he was my teacher and I was already in love with him. I had no chance at making this an easy thing."

"Yeah. You are right. I'm sorry." Emily apologized.

Aria grinned, "Don't worry about it. I forgot to tell you the good news. I got the scholarship for the U of PA! I don't have to pay for it myself."

"That's amazing!" Spencer exclaimed and they all leaned in for a group hug.

After a little while, the girls decided to go home to change since they were going to be helping Aria's parents move stuff out of their house. Aria caught up with Hanna, "Can I talk to you a minute before you go?"

Hanna escorted Aria to her car, "What's up?"

"Well I know that you guys need money and I have some money to spare…" Aria began.

Her friend cut her off, "Aria, I can't take your money. I love you and I know you want to help, but I can't."

Aria smirked, "Would you let me finish?" After Hanna nodded, she continued, "I am going to want a lot done to the house, like painting, carpeting, and some landscaping. I want to hire Caleb. He seems like a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy. He'd help me and I'd pay him. That way I trust someone to be in my house when I'm not there and you get a leg up in the process."

"Well that's a very generous offer, but I still don't feel like it's right." Hanna stared at her feet as she kicked away a stone.

She put a supportive arm around the mother-to-be, "Well you think about and talk about it with Caleb. We'll need to get settled into the house before we start planning how to remodel anyway. I'll see you over there in a little while."

Aria climbed into her car as she watched Hanna walk to hers. She hurried to her parents house and noticed the U-Haul was just coming down the street. Aria pulled in the driveway and waited in the yard as her father attempted to park the monstrous vehicle. She chuckled as she watched him pound the steering wheel, throw his hands into the air, and slam it into park. He got out of the truck and grinned when he realized he'd been caught. "Hey Sweetie. Sorry you had to see that."

"It's alright. It was amusing." Aria led the way into the house to discover it barely looked like her home anymore. Every picture had been removed from the wall and the bookshelves had been stripped of their contents. Ella was in the kitchen wrapping the last of her wine glasses in bubble wrap and placing them carefully in a box. "Need any help Mom?"

Ella smiled, "No dear, you just take it easy."

"Mom, I'm fine to help you pack things. I just can't lift." Aria stated and picked up the tape to tape off the box her mother just finished packing.

Her mother smiled, "Aria, it's really okay. That was the last of what I was packing." Everything else we're leaving here for you to start off with some things. I know Ezra has some things in his apartment, but he was a bachelor so I'm guessing he doesn't own a lot of appliances. Most of these I never used, but I know you like to cook so I'm leaving them. When are your friends arriving?"

"Any time. They all went home to change and then they'll be here." Aria explained.

"What about Ezra? When will he be here?" Ella wondered.

Aria shrugged, "I'm surprised he's not here yet. I'll call him." She stepped into the backyard and returned a minute later. "He's on his way. He had to talk with Mrs. Glossenger."

"Ok, well you are in charge of the movers when they all arrive. Please don't let Mike carry anything that says 'fragile' on it. We'll make him help with the furniture. We're going to leave your bedroom as it is. You can do whatever you want with the furniture in there. So do you have any big plans for the house?" Ella smiled.

Aria shrugged, "We figured we'd turn my room into another office area that way one of us can use the office and the other can use the new office. We don't get a lot accomplished if we work in close proximity of each other. We're going to have Mike's room as the guest room and have your bedroom as our bedroom. I was thinking of a pool in the backyard…"

Ella raised an eyebrow, "A pool?"

"Well it would be nice, but I doubt we'll get one. If we do it'll just be an above-ground pool you can buy at Walmart. Are you sad to be leaving?" Aria asked as her mother looked blankly into the backyard.

She smiled, "I am sad to be leaving. I mean, you are a newlywed. I have this dream scenario that you still need me. I know that's not who you are, you are strong. I just can't help but feel like we made the wrong choice."

"Don't worry Mom, I'll always need you. But I need Ezra too. And he loves me. He'll take good care of me." Aria hugged her mother tightly.

Ella returned the hug but released her quickly as her daughter squeaked in pain, "I'm so sorry!"

"It's ok. I forget they are broken sometimes too." Aria forced a smile for her mother as she heard Spencer's voice down the hall. She went to greet her friend as her mother released a sigh.

Spencer smiled, "Wow, this place looks different. So where do we start?"

"We're going to make the guys carry out the furniture first then we can fill the boxes in around the big stuff." Aria explained.

Her friend looked around, "Where are they staying tonight if they aren't leaving until tomorrow?"

Aria rolled her eyes, "Mike is sleeping in my room tonight. So I'll have icky boy smell all over it. My parents are sleeping on the foldout couch in the basement. They are leaving it here in case we need it." She and Spencer chuckled as Hanna came in looking like she was ready to dig in the dirt.

"Do you even own any junk clothes? Where did you get those?" Spencer couldn't contain her laughter.

She huffed a little as her pants almost fell down, "They are Caleb's. I thought they'd be alright but the pants keep falling off. I know in a few months they'll fit but they don't now and they don't tighten any further."

Aria locked arms with her friend and led her to her old bedroom, "I'll have a pair of pants you can wear." They descended the stairs a few minutes later. Hanna wore the same shirt but Aria and tied some of the extra material off to the side and let her borrow a pair of neon green leggings. They didn't go with the shirt but at least they fit.

Emily had arrived while the girls were upstairs and was chatting quietly with Spencer. Hanna and Aria approached them, "What's up? Em, are you okay?"

"Paige and I broke up." Emily replied casually.

Hanna looked confused, "What happened? You guys were ok the other day."

"It's not a big deal. We have talked it over a lot. I'm staying here for school and she's going to Michigan. We knew that it wouldn't be fair to either of us if we were to try to continue a long distance relationship with her still 'in the closet.' She can have her space and her freedom there and I can find someone who wants to tell the world they are with me. If later in life we find that we still want to be together we may try again. Don't worry guys. I'm happy about this. I actually have a date for this weekend." Emily beamed.

Spencer looked shocked, "With who?"

Emily smiled, "It's a girl I met from the campus pride group at Hollis. She's two years older than me. Her name is Lucynda, but she goes by Cyn."

"As in _sin_?" Aria teased.

Ezra walked in just in time to see the playful shove Emily gave Aria, "Why are you assaulting my wife, Ms. Fields."

"She's gay-bashing sir. Believe me, if she wasn't all broken, I'd give her one hell of a tickle torture." Emily playfully turned her claws toward Aria, who had run behind Ezra to hide.

Byron came through the door to find everyone in a fit of laughter. "Excuse me. Was anyone going to help with the furniture or do I have to pull out my spare bucket of radioactive material to get my super-strength up?"

"I'll help you sir. I'm sorry." Ezra grinned at his wife then helped her father carry the couch out the door. Not long after they got all the living room furniture loaded, Mike got home from his final day at Rosewood. Within two hours they had all the furniture and all the boxes from the second floor in the truck. It was nearing eight o'clock and everyone needed a boost. Aria left and returned with pizza, chicken wings, breadsticks, and soda. Everyone sat on the floor and ate off paper plates.

Spencer looked around the living room, "Mrs. Montgomery this place looks creepy."

"Yes it does," Ella sighed, "but I'm sure you will all help Aria and Ezra get this place looking like a home again. How long are you keeping your apartment Ezra?"

He shrugged, "I hadn't really thought about it. I guess until we get everything moved over here. There's not a huge rush to do that. Besides, we don't want a lot of people talking about the English teacher moving his things into Aria's house."

Byron snorted into his soda cup, "Sorry."

"All right," Ella chuckled at her husband, "let's finish up. We need to get some rest before we leave tomorrow."

Everyone shoved their garbage into a grocery bag since the garbage can had already been loaded into the moving truck. They all shuffled though the first floor carrying everything that was left to the truck. After an hour, the moving truck was ready to go. Byron looked around, "Well that wasn't as bad as I thought. Aria, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Aria and her father walked outside to talk since everyone Aria's friends began saying their goodbyes. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm driving up there tonight. I won't be able to sleep tonight and I'm not looking forward to any goodbyes. I wanted to let you know that I'm not exactly happy about the way things turned out for you, but I'm so glad you are happy. Ezra is a fine man, and if he wasn't your teacher, this wouldn't be so hard so me to accept. But I am so proud of you. Your mother said you told her about the scholarship. Why didn't you tell me?" Byron went through his little speech and stuck his hands in his pockets.

The young woman was teary-eyed as she replied, "I'm sorry I disappointed you by getting married to Ezra. I know you are disappointed about the whole relationship. It hasn't been easy talking to you about anything since you found out the two of us were together. It feels like you are judging every word I say. I didn't want you telling me that I should have taken the scholarship to Berkeley because it's better. I want to stay on the East Coast. I've never wanted to live in California. You seem to look down on people if they turn down a better opportunity, no matter what would be the best course of action. I'm sorry that I couldn't be everything you wanted me to be."

Byron was stung by his daughter's words, "I didn't know you felt like that Aria. I have always just wanted you to be happy. I'm sorry I tried to push you for so many years to do what I thought you should be doing. You are so much more than I ever could have hoped for in a daughter. I love you."

"I love you too Dad." Aria leaned into her father's waiting embrace. "I'm going to miss you."

He sighed, "I'm going to miss you too. Just promise me, no grandkids for at least 7 years."

"I promise you, no grandkids until I'm ready. I don't know if it will be one year or ten years until I'm ready." Aria smiled as she turned and went back in the house without letting her father comment.

Ella looked up as they entered, "What was that all about?"

"Dad says he's heading out tonight." Aria responded to her mother's question.

Her mother turned on her father, "When were you planning on telling the rest of us that?"

"Now I suppose. It's only a four hour drive and I know I won't sleep tonight if I stay here. I'd rather drive tonight than drive tomorrow exhausted." Byron explained.

Mike looked at his mother's face and stepped in to help his father, "I can ride with him. I can help keep him awake and give him directions."

"That won't work. You have to drive your father's car up there because I'm driving mine." Ella didn't like the idea of her husband driving up there alone, but she needed her son to drive.

Aria waved her hand, "I can drive Dad's car. Ezra can follow me up then we'll just come home."

"Hun, can I have a word?" Ezra and Aria moved away from the group. He lowered his voice, "Were you going to ask me if I wanted to drive up there tomorrow?"

Aria nodded, "Yeah, but I don't want my mom to have a lot of time to voice her opinions. I agree with my dad. None of them are going to sleep well tonight. My dad doesn't need to be driving that U-Haul up there by himself either way."

"I've got a better idea." Ezra returned to the group, "Why don't I ride up there with you tonight sir? That way Mike can say goodbye to his friends in the morning and you still don't have to drive up there by yourself. I could even drive part of the way if you want."

Byron seemed like he was contemplating the offer for a few minutes, then smiled, "That sounds like a plan to me. Why don't you go home any grab some of your things and come back here so we can leave?"

Ezra nodded and led his wife toward the door. Aria leaned close to him as they were walking out the door, "Were you going to ask me about this?"

"Sure. Hun, do you mind if I drive up there with your dad tonight?" Ezra inquired with a cocky grin.

Aria gave him a smirk when they got to the car, "I don't mind, but I hope you know the girls will be staying over tonight. And no, I wasn't going to ask you."

"Fine with me. Are they going to be riding up with you tomorrow?" her husband wondered.

She shrugged, "I don't know. I'll have to ask them. Would you mind if they did?"

He shook his head, "No. It'll give you some company. It's a long drive."

By the time they arrived at the apartment, Aria had contacted her friends and they were waiting for her to pick them up after she saw Ezra and her father off. By the time they returned, Aria's family was waiting in the front yard for their arrival. Byron was the first to speak, "You ready to go Ezra?"

"Yes sir. All set." He replied held up his overnight bag.

Aria's father smiled, "If you are going to continue to be my son-in-law, you are going to have to stop calling me sir."

"Ok. I'll try." Ezra replied and tossed his bag in the front of the truck. He took Aria in his arms as Byron kissed his wife and climbed into the driver's seat.

"I'm going to miss you. It's the first time we're going to be away from each other since we got married." Aria hugged her husband tightly.

He sighed into her shoulder, "It's just for a night. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok," Aria pulled back, "safe driving. Call me when you get there. I love you."

Ezra gave Aria a loving kiss, "I love you too. I'll call when I get there."

Aria kissed him again before he climbed in the truck next to Byron. "Be safe. Both of you. And Dad, if you hurt him, if will find you."

"Don't worry sweetie. This is just a chance for me to get to know my son-in-law." Byron waved out the window as they drove away.

Ella approached her daughter, "You staying alone tonight?"

"No. I'm going to get the girls and we're having a sleepover. What time are you planning on leaving tomorrow?" Aria questioned.

Ella shrugged, "When we get up and around. Probably not early. You don't have to go up with us anyway."

"I know I guess I'll see what the morning brings. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you." Aria climbed into her husband's rental car and went to pick up her friends for the last sleepover she could see in the near future.

Twenty minutes later they were all settling down in Aria and Ezra's apartment. "So what are we doing tonight? Anything special?" Emily wondered as she rolled her sleeping bag.

"I don't know. Do you guys want to do anything or just hang out? We've got movies we could watch and then talk through them like always." Aria suggested, pulling the air mattress from Ezra's closet.

Spencer flopped on the couch, "Sounds good."

"Do you guys have any plans for tomorrow?" Aria asked loudly over the pump blowing up the air mattress. All three girls shook their heads. "So you want to ride up to New York with me to pick up Ezra?"

Hannah perked up, "Road trip! I'm in. This will be fun."

Emily and Spencer agreed they would go also. Aria thanked them, "I didn't want a lonely drive. Plus I have barely driven since the accident and don't want to push it if I find that's too far for me to drive."

After the Aria and Hannah settled onto the air mattress, they made popcorn, and selected a movie, the girls chatted for a while, but within an hour of laying down, they were all asleep.

**So I hope you like this chapter. No cliffhanger. No big surprises. I think it gets them from one place to another nicely though. So like always, please review! Can't wait to hear from you again. Don't want to give you any impossible expectations so I'll just say I hope to have another update within a week **


	22. Author's Note

**So this isn't an update! Just letting you know my hard drive in my computer crashed and I have to wait a week for it to be fixed. I had almost the whole chapter written but the files weren't backed up so I'm going to rewrite in my notebook and hopefully I'll have it ready to be typed up when my computer gets fixed. I'm on my aunt's computer right now so my uncle could attempt to fix my computer. If I get the chapter done early I may upload it from here, but I don't know how often I'll be here. I'm sorry this isn't an update but keep reading and I'll have something new for you soon. Promise!**


	23. Chapter 22

**Hey! I know I am a horrible person. I haven't had any inspiration lately and seeing Jason on the show has just been putting me in a terrible Ezria place. Also, my cousin introduced me to Glee, so I've been watching the first 2 seasons so I could take her to the midnight movie premier of Glee 3D and for anyone who is interested, it was AWESOME!**

**Thanks to my reviewers: mommy loves you, .dreamers, randomness 101-Fanfic Freak, msbookworm93, SolitudeMyLove, MzPink4, lalala17, Televison Lover, HaleyJamesScottNathanScott, crazy4bre, SolitudeMyLove, AriaMasTer2000! You guys rock!**

**So this chapter isn't as long as I would like, but I needed a good stopping point. Hopefully you like it…**

The next morning, Aria was the first to wake up about ten o'clock. She called her mother to find out they had already left for the new house. Aria woke the girls and within an hour they were on their way out the door to stop for coffee before the long ride to New York. After an uneventful few hours of Aria driving, she relinquished the wheel to Emily to finish the last hour. "Thanks for taking over Em. I'm just a little tired."

"No problem. I like driving." Emily adjusted her mirrors before pulling out of the gas station.

Another hour and a half later, Aria was giving Emily directions through the small college town. Spencer couldn't help but gaze at her surroundings, "Wow, you would think there would be, I don't know, more. I mean Cornell is a big university with lots of students. This place seems empty."

"It's not so bad. Did you see that one town just before we crossed the border into New York?" Aria inquired.

Spencer shook her head, "No. I guess I missed it."

"Exactly. At least it's not one of those towns. Geez Spence, I even knew where Aria was going with that." Hanna teased as the car filled with laughter. A few minutes later they pulled into the driveway next to her mother's car.

Aria climbed out, "Hey everyone, we're here!" Ezra jogged out of the house and grabbed his wife in a big hug.

"I missed you." Ezra kissed her gently and set her back on her feet.

She laughed and playfully nudged him, "I was away from you for less than 24 hours."

He shrugged and led Aria and the girls toward the house, "Doesn't mean I didn't miss you. Did you drive all the way here?"

"No. We stopped before the border and Emily took over. I needed a break." Aria commented looking around the front room as they entered the house. "This is nice."

Byron came around the corner handing a box to Ezra, "I really like it. It's not as big as our old place, but it's still homey. Can you take this to Mike's room?"

"Sure." Ezra walked down the hall and returned a minute later minus a box. "Well let's finish the boxes then we can get the furniture."

For the rest of the evening, they unloaded the truck and Ezra helped Byron and Mike organize the furniture. They heard Ella call from the kitchen that dinner was done. They all sat in the backyard and ate their hamburgers and macaroni salad. "When are you planning on going back?" Ella wondered as she gathered their empty plates.

"I don't know. We haven't talked about it." Aria replied as she took a sip of her tea.

The girls all looked at each other, "We all brought extra clothes, in case we wound up staying the night up here."

"Then I guess we'll stay for the night and drive back tomorrow. That way we don't have to worry about everyone being too tired to drive." Aria concluded.

Ella smiled, "That sounds like a good idea. Mike, will you help me with the fold-out couch and air mattress?"

"Mom, you don't have to do that. We can go to a hotel for the night." Aria didn't want to make any more work after their long day.

Her mother brushed her off, "Nonsense. We have the guest room where you and Ezra can stay, two can sleep on the couch bed, and someone can take the air mattress. Then I'll make everyone breakfast before you head home tomorrow. I won't be seeing any of you until probably graduation and I will miss you all. I want to keep you as long as I can." She hurried inside the house before she began to cry with mike following her.

Byron stood and headed toward the house also, "I'm going to get a shower before you girls invade the bathroom."

"I hate seeing your mom like that Aria." Emily sighed.

Aria nodded in agreement, "Me too. But this is what they want and I got what I want so I guess we should all try to be happy."

They all went inside to get ready for bed. Even though it was early, they were all exhausted.

The next morning, after a large breakfast of blueberry waffles, omelettes, and bacon, the girls and their former English teacher began the five hour drive back to Rosewood. When they were within twenty minutes of home, Aria's cell phone rang, "Hello? Oh hi Delores. No, we're fine. We didn't forget. Absolutely. We can meet you for dinner. Yes, I know where that is. Ok. We'll see you at seven."

Ezra waited until she hung up to speak, "By the sounds of it we are having dinner with my grandmother."

"Yes. She hadn't heard from us and she was getting a little concerned we wouldn't call." Aria explained. They went to the apartment first so the couple could change quickly and then they took the girls to Spencer's house before heading toward the city.

Delores looked visibly pleased as Aria and Ezra approached, "It's so good to see you again. I'm glad you didn't forget about me."

"Of course not. I'm sorry, we should have called you." Aria apologized as she took the seat Ezra held for her.

"It is perfectly fine. You are newlyweds. I'm sure you were preoccupied." The elderly woman winked.

Ezra smiled, "It was actually a lot of things. The week after we got married, Aria was in a car accident. She only broke a few ribs, but then they did an ultrasound to check for bleeding and found a large cyst that they had to remove. She's been recovering from surgery and we've been packing since we just bought a house. We just got back from moving her parents to Upstate New York."

"Full of excuses, aren't you?" Delores jokes.

He shook his head, "I'm not trying to make excuses. I'm just trying to emphasize that I have really wanted to be able to sit down and speak with you again."

She smiled, "It's all right. I knew what you were getting at. So why don't we start with you telling me about yourself?"

"Well I am a high school English teacher. I have a beautiful wife and I think soon we'll be getting a puppy. I write poetry and short stories and hope to publish a book someday." Ezra gave his grandmother a brief description of himself.

She smiled and nodded, "That's wonderful. And Connor, is he gay?"

Aria chuckled at the look on Ezra's face, "He is. How did you know?"

"When he was little, he'd walk around in my heels saying, 'Gamma, these are stunning.' I knew right then that he'd was different," she explained with a hardy laugh.

They three of them began discussing Ezra and Connor growing up and more recently, his and Aria's relationship, "Before we go any further, we need to tell you something."

"Go right ahead dear," she motioned for Aria to continue.

Aria sighed, "I was a student of Ezra's."

"Okay, that's nothing special." Delores didn't comprehend the meaning of Aria's statement.

She continued, "I am still a student at the high school he teaches at. I'm only eighteen."

"Oh," a look of understanding came over her, "I see. Well I can't really say anything. I was sixteen when I married Ezra's grandfather and he was twenty six years old."

Ezra smiled, "We only mention this because we have to keep our relationship very low-profile until she graduates. I could be fired otherwise."

"I understand. Will I be invited to your graduation?" Delores inquired hopefully.

Aria nodded happily, "If you want to come, I'd love to have you there."

"Definitely. Well it is getting rather late and you have both had a long day. I think I'll be heading home. But once you get settled in your new place, we will have to get together again." Delores stood and took the check.

Ezra tried to grab the check at the same time, "You don't have to pay."

"I invited you out, so I'm paying. Next time, you can get the tab. Have a good evening." Without another word, she hurried to the register to pay and was out the door.

They slipped on their coats and hurried out the door to their car. On the ride home, Aria could tell Ezra had something on his mind, "What's up? You are very quiet."

"I just know I'm going to have to talk to my mom about this and I don't want to be mad at her, but I am. How could she keep this from me?" he gripped the steering wheel, trying to remain calm.

She rubbed his leg, immediately relieving some of his tension, "I know you are upset, but at least don't jump to conclusions. I'm sure your mother thought she was doing what was best for you."

He sighed, "You're right. I just need to calm down and talk to her about it."

When they got home, Ezra got in the shower and Aria checked the messages on her phone. She had a missed call from Hanna. It wasn't too late so she called her back,

"Hey Han, what's up?"

'Well I was actually wondering a few things.'

"Okay."

'I was wondering if you still wanted to give Caleb that extra work.'

"Yeah. We need a lot done."

'He would really like to take you up on that offer. He did find a part-time job that the manager said if he liked his work, he could turn it into full-time once Caleb graduates, but we will need the extra cash.'

"That's no problem. And we can work around his work schedule."

'Awesome, also, who is Ezra's landlord? We are looking for a small apartment because we don't want to live with my mom once the baby comes.'

"I'm not sure, but I'll ask him and let you know tomorrow."

'Okay. Thanks a lot Aria. I'm going to get to bed. Good night.'

"Night."

Ezra came down the hall just as Aria was hanging up, "Who was that?"

"Hanna. She was wondering if we still wanted to hire Caleb for some work around the house." Aria eyed Ezra with only a towel on, "Tease."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, "Sorry. Would you like me to take it off?"

"No," she held her ribs, "I think that would be a bad idea. I would wind up in a lot of pain."

Ezra kissed her cheek and went to put clothes on. He came back out a minute later with lounge pants on, "So you were saying about Hanna?"

"She was wondering if we still wanted to hire Caleb to work around the house." Aria repeated.

He nodded, "Yeah. I mean if you want to use him that's fine. I trust your judgment."

She smiled, "She was also wondering who your landlord is. They are looking for a small apartment."

"I'll write down his name and number for you to give to her in the morning." Ezra flopped on the couch and flipped on the television. He zoned out to whatever mindless comedy and Aria laughed to herself.

Soon, she was through her math homework and decided to go to bed. She stood, stretched, and leaned over the back of the couch, "I'm going to bed."

"Okay, I'll be in after the news is over." He smiled at her and turned back to the television.

Aria was nearly asleep by the time Ezra came in. She knew if she started talking to him she wouldn't fall asleep, so she pretended to be sleeping when he began talking to her. He noticed pretty quickly she wasn't responding. He kissed her cheek before settling beneath the blankets.

**So like I said it's short, but I hope you enjoyed it! Also, I'm posting this as soon as I finished it so there wasn't really any proofreading. Please review even if it's just to tell me I've been a jerk for not updating!**


	24. Chapter 23

**Thanks to my reviewers: .dreamers, crazyatbest, lalala17, EZRIALoVeforever12, SolitudeMyLove, LacieBabes, HarrylovesGinny09, MzPink4, Bree, msbookworm93, Televison Lover**

**I appreciate it so much that you guys are still reading this. So the next chapter was done a lot quicker than I thought it would be. So I hope you enjoy.**

**I'm letting you know right now: I went back on my word about Jackie. I hate her with a fiery passion, but I needed this in my story and I didn't want to introduce an original character. I hope you aren't mad.**

The next two months passed quickly for the couple and Aria was getting excited for everything the last month and a half of her senior year would bring. She had gone back to the doctor and everything from her cyst removal looked good and her ribs rarely hurt anymore. They had gotten moved into their new house and helped Hanna and Caleb set up home in their old apartment. Aria was preparing for her senior trip, prom, and her trip to interview for a summer internship in New York City.

Ezra was thrilled to be settling into his life with Aria and his professional life was excelling as well. He had taken some inspiration from Aria and their relationship and wrote a book. Jason asked him how he had written a book in less than a month and he just shrugged. In reality, it had been Aria's prodding that helped him. They had both agreed to write one chapter a night in their own book and Aria was always the first one done. Her chapters were shorter, but his book was done first. Aria was close to having hers finished, but she'd been spending a lot of time studying and trying to get the house in order.

Aria was in the kitchen on Friday evening when Ezra got home from parent/teacher conferences, "Hey, what are you smiling for?"

"You might want to sit down." He smiled and pulled out a chair for her.

She laughed and shook her head, "Just tell me. I am making dinner."

"I think I found a publisher for my book who also agreed to read yours as soon as it's complete." Ezra smirked.

Aria dropped the spoon she was stirring the soup with and ran to Ezra, "Really? What did he say about your book?"

He pulled out the chair further and Aria sat this time. He sat across from her and pulled out a copy of the email he received, "Well _she_ said that it's a brilliant story and she's going to run it through her partner, but as long as her partner doesn't absolutely hate it their company will publish it."

"That's great news." Aria kissed him of the cheek and continued adding ingredients to her creation.

Ezra's eyes got big, "That's great news? Aren't you excited they will be reading your book too?"

"Sure. That would be nice, but I'm just going to get overly excited about it until I get the book finished. I think I have about five chapters left to write." Aria began getting plates to set the table. "Will you cut the bread?" She dished out their soup and sat at the table.

He gave his soup a minute to cool, "So I've been meaning to talk to you about spring break. I know that you wanted to stay here, but now I feel bad that we didn't go anywhere. It was supposed to be our honeymoon."

"Ezra, I was sick that entire week. I didn't want to get out of bed. Why would I have wanted to go somewhere and pay to be miserable when I could do that at home for free?" Aria chuckled, taking a sip of her tea.

He sighed but didn't answer. They ate their dinner in silence. After dinner, Ezra volunteered to clean up if Aria wanted to work on her book. She thanked him and headed to her office. She wasn't sure how she wanted the story to end. She heard a bang downstairs and an immediate outburst from Ezra yelling at the door casing he had just kicked. She suddenly had an amazing idea and began typing. She was flying through the pages of her story and didn't look up when Ezra knocked, "How's it going?"

"Mmkay," she mumbled, not taking her focus from her writing.

Plopping on the couch, he picked up a book and began reading through it. He was four chapters in and Aria hadn't said a word. He finally stood, "I'm going to shower and head to bed I think."

"Kay. Love you." Aria was feverishly typing, trying not to lose her concentration. He left her alone, going to the bathroom to take a hot shower.

When he returned to their bedroom, Aria was under the covers looking at Ezra with a childish grin, "What?"

"I finished my book." Aria squeaked.

He looked stunned, "Already? I thought you were stuck."

She nodded, "I was stuck. Then I heard you yelling at the door casing and something in my head clicked."

"Well since it's almost two in the morning, I'm glad you are done." Ezra crawled across the bed for a kiss, pinning her under the blankets.

She kissed him back passionately, "Ezra, I want you."

"I want you too," he replied, not understanding how serious she was being.

She shook her head, "No, Ezra. I want you. Tonight. I've been cleared by both my doctors and my ribs don't hurt anymore."

He sat back some, "I don't know. I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm going to hurt you if you don't get over here and kiss me," Aria teased.

Ezra could see in her eyes she meant it and smiled, "Anything for you my dear."

The next morning, Aria was definitely sore, but wasn't going to let Ezra know that she was hurting. She took a bath to relax her muscles then went downstairs for some coffee.

As if he smelled the coffee, Ezra made his way into the kitchen a few minutes later, "Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"Great," she lied. Mentally she felt incredible, but physically she was in pain. Considering the possibilities though, she felt wonderful.

"When do I get to read your last few chapters?" He wondered, throwing a few pieces of bread into the toaster.

She shrugged, "Whenever. I was in such a rush last night that I'd really like a second pair of eyes to edit it for me."

He looked shocked, "Really? You haven't let me read any of it."

"Well I'd like some editing before anyone else reads it. Besides, I haven't read yours yet either." She poured them both a cup of coffee and went to get the paper from the porch. As she opened the door, she saw Caleb pull up. "Morning, Caleb."

He smiled as he jogged up to the door, "Hey. I don't mean to interrupt. I left Hanna's iPod here the other day when I was working. She's insisting I get it."

She grabbed her paper and held the door open for him, "Come on in."

"Thanks. I think it's in Ezra's office." He went into Ezra's office and returned to the kitchen a few minutes later empty handed. "It wasn't there."

Ezra looked up, "What wasn't where?"

"I left Hanna's iPod here the other day. I can't find it now." Caleb knew Hanna would freak out on him if he had lost her iPod.

Ezra reached over to his school bag, "I have it. I figured you left it here and was going to return it to Hanna the other day. I completely forgot." He handed Caleb the sparkly pink iPod.

"Thanks. It would have been bad if I'd lost this. So do you guys know what you want me to do next?" Caleb surveyed the kitchen.

Aria shrugged, "I'm not sure. The living room looks amazing. And you did such a great job on Ezra's office. I just don't know what we want to do yet."

"All right, well I'm going to head out. Hanna wants you to call her when you get a minute. See you guys later." Caleb waved and headed out the door.

Ezra chuckled, "Oh man."

"What?" Aria wondered what he was thinking.

He shook his head and took went to refill his coffee, "I think I've finally been accepted into the group. 'You guys.' Apparently they are okay with us."

"They are okay with us," Aria held out her cup for a refill as well, "and if they weren't okay, I'd kick their asses."

He smirked, "Bad ass."

"I'm going to call Hanna. Do you want me to print my book for you, email it, or stick it on a flash drive?" Aria wondered, sipping her fresh cup of coffee.

He kissed her, "If you could just put it on my computer that would be awesome. I need a shower."

She nodded, "Sure. I may join you." She went to her office and loaded the file to her flash drive. She called Hanna as she was heading down the stairs to Ezra's office. She brought his computer to life and began the transfer process. Just as Aria was getting ready to shut the computer down, a message popped up from Jackie. "Han, I have to call you back."

She hung up the phone and read the message. She didn't mean to be invading his privacy, but it just popped up. 'Ezra, I'm sorry about the other day. But I mean what I said. I want to give us another chance. I know I screwed up. We've both had some time and I think we can make it work.' Aria wasn't sure what to do after reading that. What happened the other day?

Aria knew needed to talk to Ezra about it. She shut the computer down and left his little office to return to the kitchen. When Ezra finally finished his shower, he rejoined Aria at the table. "I waited for you to come in until the water was cold," he smiled.

"I think we need to talk." Aria played with the spoon on the table.

He looked concerned, "What happened?"

"When I was loading my book onto your computer, a message from Jackie popped up on the screen. I didn't reply or anything. But I want to ask you did something happen the other day that you forgot to mention?" she tried keeping he voice calm.

He sighed, "It's nothing. We ran into each other at the store when I was getting stuff for dinner. She said she had been thinking a lot about me lately. She said she wanted us to be together. I told her that I was in a relationship. I didn't tell her I got married because we are so close to getting away with this and I know her. She would make trouble for us. She said she could change that and tried to kiss me. I told her that I would never be with her and I left."

"Either you've been working on this story for a while or you are telling the truth." Aria sighed and leaned in to kiss him.

He greeted her lips with his, "Thank you for believing me. If you want me to tell her I'm married I will."

Aria shook her head, "No. We don't need any drama. I think I'm going over to Hanna's place for a bit. Are you okay here?"

"I have coffee, a bagel with cream cheese, and an amazing new book to read. I think I'll be fine." He laughed as he headed into his office.

She leaned in the doorway, "Are you going to message her back?"

"Yes. I'm going to make it clear that I am committed to a wonderful woman and I want nothing to do with her." He kissed Aria so she could be on her way. "Love you."

"Love you too. I'll grab something for dinner before I come home." Aria grabbed her keys and headed toward her friend's apartment. She needed to vent.

As soon as Aria arrived at the apartment, Caleb left, sensing the apartment wouldn't be quiet for long. For half an hour, Aria fumed and released her frustrations on her friend who sat silently. Finally Aria sank into a chair, crying, "I don't know what to think."

"Do you trust him? Do you think he would do that to you?" Hanna rubbed her friend's back to comfort her.

Aria wiped her eyes, "Of course I trust him. It's just that it's that bitch. Anyone else I'd be okay. Mrs. Glossenger practically threw herself at him and I laughed."

"It's just because they have a history. If Ezra hadn't wanted you, he wouldn't have put everything on the line to marry you. I know he loves you." Hanna smiled at Aria who looked like she was going to relax.

There was a knock on the door and Hanna moved away from her friend to answer it. Aria could hear Hanna talking to someone and her curiosity got the best of her so she joined her friend to see who it was. She should have known that Jackie would be standing there, "Jackie."

"Yes? You look familiar." She looked at Aria curiously as Hanna's mouth hung open.

Aria nodded, "Byron Montgomery's daughter."

"Oh yes, um, Aria, right? How are you? I thought your family moved?" She was making polite conversation as Aria was visualizing punching her.

She nodded again, "My family did. I stayed here to finish my senior year. This is my girlfriend Hanna."

Hanna's eyes got bigger, "Yes. Hi. Nice you meet you."

"You too. So I was just wondering if Ezra Fitz was here but I'm guessing he doesn't live here anymore." Jackie eyed the pieced-together décor.

Aria shrugged, "No. He moved out a few months ago. I'm not sure where. The rumor at school is he's living with someone."

"Oh," Aria got a strange satisfaction from seeing the hurt in the woman's eyes, "okay then. Um, if you see him at school, will you tell him that I'm looking for him?"

"I will make sure I tell him." Aria smiled and waved as she closed the door. She was upset before, but now she was just mad.

Hanna hugged her friend before she could do anything else, "It's okay. There are a million ways she could have gotten his address."

"How'd you know that's what I was thinking?" Aria wondered.

He friend smirked, "We've been friends how long? I normally can predict what kind of mood you are in just by what you are wearing. So…"

"So what?" Aria gave her friend a strange look.

"I think we should take this into the bedroom. Since you are my girlfriend, I figured we should see what Emily gets out of this." Hanna joked, causing Aria to crack up.

After another hour, Aria was in a better mood and decided to head for home. She stopped at the store to pick up ingredients for lasagna and couldn't wait to tell Ezra about Hanna's visitor. When she looked into his study, he was clearing immersed in the story, so Aria went to prepare dinner. Once she had it in the oven, she decided to interrupt his reading. She knocked on the open door and Ezra jumped, "Hey, when did you get home?"

"About an hour ago. How's it going?" She moved his keyboard over and sat in front of him on his desk.

He looked her over, "You are such a tease."

"I didn't do anything." She leaned in to kiss him.

Ezra sighed and held her hand, "Can I be honest about your book?"

"Yes," her breath caught in her throat, "you can tell me anything."

He sighed, "I think it's better than mine and I can't let you give it to the publisher."

Aria laughed, but Ezra looked completely serious, "Are you kidding me?"

"No," he shook his head, "I really don't think this publisher is going to get your book out there like a bigger company would. We need to contact a bigger name."

She smiled, "You really think so?"

"I do." He kissed her again, "So how was your day with Hanna?"

She chuckled, "I've decided to make Hanna my girlfriend."

"You didn't want to discuss this with your husband first?" he laughed.

Aria shook her head, "Well I needed a good story for when Jackie stopped by Hanna's apartment."

"She what?" He sat there looking like Aria had to be lying.

"Yeah, she came by looking for you. I said something I maybe shouldn't have." Aria admitted her brashness.

He held his breath, "What did you say?"

"I just said that the rumors around school were that you were living with someone. I know I probably shouldn't have said anything, but I was still on edge from her message this morning and it just came out. I'm sorry." Aria apologized.

Ezra smiled, "It's okay. It's not that big a deal. I hope she got the hint that I don't want her."

"I wouldn't be so sure. I can just feel that she isn't going to let up." Aria crossed her arms.

He sighed, "Well I hope you are wrong. What smells so good?"

"I'm making lasagna." She smiled and hopped off the desk.

Ezra stood and followed her to the kitchen, "Lasagna? That's new. Are you sure it's going to be edible?"

She tried to mock offense, "Excuse me, I have improved a lot in the cooking department and I haven't once poisoned you." She pulled the lasagna out of the oven, followed by the garlic bread.

"I have to admit it; that looks delicious." His stomach growled as her set the table. They sat down and had a wonderful meal, completely forgetting about Jackie and discussing how wonderful Ezra thought Aria's book was.

Aria put the leftover lasagna in the refrigerator and Ezra helped her finish the dishes, "This is so nice. I can't believe how simple our relationship is in here. I never thought this would be our life. I love you."

"I love you too. I am so happy with you. Something as simple as doing the dishes together makes me happier than I ever was before you." He brushed his lips against her temple.

She smiled and flicked some bubbles at him, "You know. I have had an idea since you mentioned it earlier. I know you have been talking to this other publishing company, but if you think we should contact a bigger company about my book, I think maybe we should give them your book too."

"My book isn't as good as yours. They won't look twice at it." He sighed, putting away the dishes.

"They don't need to look twice at it. They only need to look at it once and they'll be begging to publish it. Besides, I plan on reading your book before the end of the weekend." Aria went to Ezra's office and waited for him there.

He entered a few minutes later, "What if I'm not ready for you to read it?"

"Get ready. I turned mine over without any hesitation. Why don't you want me to read it?" she questioned.

He sat in his chair and pulled her onto his lap, "Because a lot of the story is about when you left me. Just the emotions I was feeling and everything. Of course I did exaggerate for drama's sake, but I don't want you to read it and be hurt by it."

She smiled, "You love me now and that's all that matters. Besides, I can't blame you for feeling those things. I left you without a word for a whole day, just before our wedding. I deserve whatever you were thinking. But I really want to read it."

"Fine," he sighed, "But please just don't be mad at me."

Aria smiled and kissed him, "Thank you. I'm going to get a bath. Will you print your book for me? I know it's a lot but I can't sit at a computer all weekend."

"Anything for you. Enjoy your bath." He kissed her hand and went to work on her request.

Ezra finished reading Aria's book before they went to bed that night and Aria finished Ezra's book Sunday afternoon. He found her sitting on the backyard swing crying. He went to comfort her, "What's wrong?"

"I can't believe you felt those things," she choked.

He sighed, "You said you wouldn't get mad."

"I said I wouldn't get mad at you. I'm so furious with myself. I can't believe I hurt you so badly. How could you still go through with the wedding? How could you even look at me after that?" She cried into his shoulder.

He tilted her face up to look in her eyes, "Do you want to know how? Because you stood in the freezing rain and shouted my name. Because I have loved you since I met you and even though it felt like you broke my heart, you fixed it the second you came back to me."

"I love you." She wiped her tears away and smiled.

He laughed, "You are so emotional. It's adorable. So other than making you cry, what did you think of the book?"

"It's incredible Ezra. You can definitely get published by a big firm. It's one of the best books I've ever read." Aria complimented her husband.

"Thanks. I appreciate it. I can't wait to see our books on the shelves, side by side." Ezra took his wife's hand and led her back to the house, to enjoy another night together before their school week started again.

The next day at school was like any other day. Ezra taught and Aria went to class. At lunch, Hanna rushed over to Aria, "Jackie is here. I just saw her heading toward Fitz's classroom."

Aria shrugged and took a sip of her juice, "Hope that goes well for her."

"Aren't you going to go down there?" Hanna demanded her friend take action.

She shook her head, "No. I'll let him handle it. I trust him."

Hanna sank into her chair, "Where is the Aria that I know? You would normally go nuts and storm down there."

Just then, Ezra was walking Jackie toward the exit, "This is where I work. I can't believe you would come down here. I told you at the store we are over and I don't have any feelings for you anymore. You need to leave me alone and never try to bother me again."

Aria turned back to Hanna, "See? All taken care of?" Aria burst into a fit of laughter and caught Ezra smirking at her as he walked back to his classroom.

The lunch bell rang and everyone began flocking out of the courtyard to their classes. Aria was gathering her books when she was approached by Uriah, a guy in her gym class, "Hey Aria. How's it going?"

"It's going pretty good. How are you?" Aria dumped her trash and started toward the gym.

He smiled, "I'm doing fine. I have something I want to ask you."

"Okay," she returned his smile.

Uriah took a deep breath, "Will you go to prom with me?"

Aria was shocked by his question. It wasn't what she expected, "Oh I don't know."

"Hey it's okay. Just figured I asked." His eyes sank to the floor.

She tried to cheer him up, "It's not you. I just had planned to go alone. I have a boyfriend. He just can't go to prom with me."

He nodded, looking a little more cheerful, "Okay. Well thanks anyway."

"Wait," she knew she'd kick herself later, "if I say yes can it be with the understanding that we are nothing more than friends?"

Uriah's smile brightened, "That actually sounds great. It'll be fun. So I'll talk to you later about the details." He hurried to the guys' locker room while Aria groaned and dragged herself to the girls' locker room.

Her friends all gave her a funny look as she approached, "I think I may have done something dumb."

"What did you do?" Spencer wondered if Aria and Ezra were fighting.

She sighed and began pulling on her gym clothes, "I told Uriah I'd go to prom with him."

"That's not so bad. I mean at least you aren't going alone now." Emily shrugged.

Aria gave Emily a stern look, "What am I going to tell _him_? I mean it was one thing to not be able to take me, but it's another thing to go with someone else."

"I'm sure he will understand." Hanna shrugged and they hurried to gym class.

After school, Aria hurried home, hoping she wouldn't have to wait long for Ezra. Luckily he didn't have anything to do after school and was home within an hour. She met him at the door, "Hey."

"What's wrong?" he wondered. She had never met him at the door before.

She took his hand, "Uriah Bronson asked me to go to prom with him today and I told him I would."

"You told him yes?" Ezra raised an eyebrow.

Aria nodded, "I told him I was with someone that I couldn't go with. I only agreed because we agreed to keep it as friends, just so he doesn't have to go alone. And it would be nice to have someone just to chat with since the girls are all taking dates and I don't want to be the third wheel."

"Okay," he kissed her and went to put his bag in his office, "sounds like it'll be fun. You know I wish I could take you."

Aria smiled, "I do know that and I wish you could take me but, changing the subject, how did it go with Jackie today?"

"Yeah, I saw you laughing by the way." He teased.

She flopped on the couch, "It's not like that. Hanna was insisting that I storm down there and defend you. I told her you had it covered."

"I don't think we'll have to worry about her anymore." Ezra sat on the end of the couch and allowed Aria to rest her feet on his lap.

Kicking her shoes off, she nudged Ezra with her feet, getting him to massage them. She giggled as he lightly tickled her feet, "I'd almost like her if she could take a hint and wasn't trying to ruin my marriage."

"I don't think you would. She's not like your friends. She's very self-centered. You see how she is. One-track minded. She decided she wanted to be with me again and she just doesn't understand why I won't just drop everything to be with her. She doesn't get the concept." Ezra explained, still rubbing his wife's feet.

Aria sighed, "Can I ask you something without you overthinking it? You knew what she was like. Why did you keep dating her and eventually ask her to marry you? I mean I know it wasn't the sex, but I'm just trying to understand."

"It's going to sound like a dumb answer, but it's the truth. I thought she was amazing when I met her. We had a really good, casual relationship. We decided to date and it was okay for a while. Then I started noticing her mood swings. She'd freak out if I didn't call her within twenty minutes of her calling me, even if she knew I was in a class. I thought maybe it was because she'd had some really bad relationships, but when I met her parents and her mother asked how her mood swings were, I knew it went deeper. I thought that maybe I could help her, fix her somehow. It never got better. That's when we broke up. When we got back together, she told me she had been seeing a therapist and was on medication. It was like she was he girl I first met. I decided to try it again with her, but as soon as I proposed, she stopped her sessions and refused to take her meds. I asked her why and she said because if I loved her enough to propose then I should love her no matter what. I wanted to check her into a therapeutic retreat. She needed to see that she needed the counseling. She said if I made her seek treatment, she was leaving me. So she left. It wasn't until I met you and we started a relationship that I realized how deranged the relationship that I had with Jackie really was. As unconventional as our relationship is, we have always been normal together. I have seen your true self and I know your secrets and even after all that, I know I'd never want to be with anyone else. I'm so glad I didn't make a commitment before I found you. You are my soul mate." Ezra leaned in to kiss with wife.

She giggled against his lips, "Way to score some brownie points. I feel the same way about you. With everyone else I have dated they were either only concerned with sex or they just got on my nerves. Everyone has their little idiosyncrasies like you when you are really into a story; you make facial expressions along with what you are reading. I love that about you, but with everyone else, these little things just got to me after a while."

He looked surprised, "I really do that?"

"Yes. Just like sometimes I hum when I eat. It's not something I do on purpose but a lot have people have told me that I do that." Aria sighed.

Ezra nodded, "I know."

"You've heard it. Why didn't you tell me?" She chuckled.

He shrugged, "I thought it was cute and I didn't want you to stop doing it."

"Okay,' she stood and stretched, "what do you want for dinner?"

He thought a minute, "I know it's a school night, but do you want to go out?"

"Whatever you want to do." Aria shrugged. She would like not cooking for a night.

He suddenly took her hand and led her upstairs to the bedroom. Without a word, he began removing her clothes until she was standing in nothing but her underwear. He then removed his clothes down to his boxers. She opened her mouth to speak, but he silenced her with a kiss, keeping his hands at his sides and only touched her with his lips. Aria went to put her arms around his neck but he put them back at her sides. After a few minutes of kissing like that, he took a step forward and took her hands, not breaking their kiss. After an hour of moving slightly closer every few minutes, they were finally wrapped in each other's arms. He could tell Aria was getting impatient and he finally broke their kiss. "What was that all about?" she growled, her voice filled with desire.

"You know how you are feeling right now? That is how I felt everyday having you in my class, not even being able to fully acknowledge you, let alone take you in my arms." He had been doing all of it to make a point,

She scowled, "So now you've got me worked up for nothing?"

Ezra shook his head, "Not for nothing, but a little sexual tension will make dinner interesting I think." He moved away from her and picked up her clothes so she could get dressed again. Once they were both dressed, they took a silent trip outside of town to a small restaurant that was their favorite secret dinner getaway.

Aria was determined to make him pay for his little demonstration. She spoke very little at dinner and when they arrived home Ezra led her back to their bedroom.

She began to protest, but he interrupted her, "I remember you saying whatever I wanted to do." She had no argument to that statement and allowed him to do what he wanted. He removed her shirt once again and began kissing her neck. She shuddered and knew no matter what she was trying to prove she wouldn't be able to resist his advances. Luckily, this time was nothing like the time before dinner. He had got them both worked up and wasn't going to keep either of them waiting any longer. He removed his clothing and picked Aria up, laying her gently on the bed. He hurriedly undid the button her jeans and tossed them to the floor. He slid her underwear off and climbed onto the bed next to her.

He wasn't expecting it when she rolled on top of him and pinned his arms down above his head, "My turn to play." She smirked before biting his collarbone. He gasped from the pain and the pleasure of it. She began kissing the sensitive area on his neck and teased his ear with her tongue.

Pretty soon there was no way to resist having her, "Aria, I want you."

"You want me?" She still held his arms over his head and bit into his earlobe.

He gasped, "Oh my god, please Baby. I want you. I _need _you."

She let go of his hands and slid off his chest, "Your turn."

"Payback is sweet," he grinned devilishly before grabbing her and passionately making love to her.

**Thanks for reading! Just letting you know I'm only about 300 words into the next chapter, so don't expect an update as quick as you got this one. Plus I think the next chapter is going to include the senior trip so it'll probably be longer anyway. Please review and let me know what you thought **


	25. Chapter 24

**Thanks to my reviewers: crazyatbest, SolitudeMyLove, .dreamers, msbookworm93, kara d, Televison Lover, HarrylovesGinny09, MzPink4, AriaEzraPLL, Pllezria4everrr, iloveu, PrettyLittleLiarLover224, TheCdKnight**

**Sorry it has taken me so long. I'm stuck on the senior trip part of the story. So if this sucks I'm sorry. **

The next morning, Aria woke first and slipped into the shower to relax her muscles. A few minutes later, Ezra knocked and entered, "Good morning."

"Morning." She replied from the shower. She was thinking about the night before and how she couldn't wait to do it again.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shout from Ezra, "Holy crap!"

"What?" She pulled the curtain back to look at him. She saw a line of hickeys that went from his collarbone to the base of his ear.

She couldn't help but giggle, "Well, Mr. Fitz, what were _you_ doing last night?"

"How can you joke about this? I can't go to school looking like this." He wasn't mad, but he really didn't want to face his students with his neck covered in hickeys.

Aria rolled her eyes as she climbed out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel, "Let's get dressed and I will help you." She grabbed her phone asking Emily to grab her coffee and muffin for homeroom since she knew it would take a few minutes to fix Ezra's neck. She dressed quickly and threw her hair into a messy braid. She put on some eyeliner and lip gloss before Ezra reentered the bathroom.

"Now what?" he shrugged.

She lowered the lid on the toilet, "Sit." She went to work on his neck and by the time they had to leave, you couldn't tell there was even a mark.

"That's incredible. How'd you get so good at this?" he wondered, surveying her artistry.

She hurried down the stairs and grabbed her bag, "Are you kidding? Do you know how many hickeys I have woke up with after one of our make-out sessions?"

"I didn't realize. I never noticed," he eyed her suspiciously.

Aria smirked, "Exactly. I love you. See you tonight." She kissed him before hurrying out the door to her car.

The week passed quickly. Friday afternoon, Aria and Ezra were both scheduled to meet with a publisher. They had emailed the publisher on Sunday evening and received instructions to email their books to one of their junior publishers. They both received emails by Thursday morning saying the company would like to meet them. They arranged to meet on of the senior publishers together to save time. After school on Friday, Aria hurried home to change and Ezra grabbed the jacket that went with the suit he'd worn that day. They drove into the city and were almost late getting to their meeting because of traffic.

Ezra took Aria's hand and they hurried inside the building where the publisher's office was located. They scanned the directory and found they needed to go to the twelfth floor. Aria looked uneasy in the elevator. Ezra squeezed her hand, "Don't worry. The meeting will go great."

"I'm not worried about the meeting." Aria mumbled.

He thought for a second then pulled her close, "I almost forgot you hate elevators. We're nearly there."

They hurried off the elevator and found the office with no trouble. They walked up to the secretary. Aria smiled, "Ezra and Aria Fitz. We have a four o'clock meeting with Mr. Stanis."

"You are right on time. Please have a seat. I'll make sure he's available." They took their seats while the secretary got up and went through a doorway. She returned less than a minute later, "He's ready for you. Please follow me."

Aria stood and held out her hand to Ezra, who took it, trying to dislodge the lump in his throat. When they entered the office, the slender man behind the desk jumped to greet them, "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Fitz. I'm so glad to meet you. My name is Adam Stanis. Please call me Adam."

"Aria." She smiled as she shook his hand.

Ezra shook the man's hand after his wife, "Please call me Ezra."

"Please have a seat," Adam sat on his desk, motioning to the seats in front of him. "Let's get right down to business. I have read both of your books and I think we have the real thing. I'm talking best seller material."

Ezra cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, which book?"

"That's what I'm trying to say. I think we should combine both of your books into a double feature." Adam had a smile plastered on his face.

Aria wasn't sure she understood, "Why would you want to combine them? Aren't they fine on their own?"

"Please tell me that you didn't see the connection." He continued after receiving confused looks, "Ezra, your book was about the beginning of something and the hurt when something was lost. Aria, even though you dipped into the past a little, you were more concerned about the happy ending. Your stories intertwine so well."

Ezra shook his head, "I never even realized. I guess they kind of do go together."

"Yeah. I guess." Aria shrugged.

Adam stood and went around the desk to sit in his chair, "I know from a writer's perspective, it does seem strange, but from an avid book-reader's point of view, these two stories mesh so well. If I didn't know any better I'd have thought you wrote them together. You must be a lot alike. So here's what I'm thinking. You have a great demographic going for you. Aria you've got younger adults, women, and even some teenagers. Ezra, you already have a small fan base from your previous poetry and short stories. You appeal to men, woman, old, young; you "appeal to the masses," shall we say. With both your names on this book and some co-author book signings, you could easily get on the New York Times Best-Seller List."

"That's amazing. So what would we have to do? I mean what would happen from here if we decided to pursue this?" Aria wanted more information.

The publisher stood and paced around the room so he could gesture as he spoke, "First, I turn the books over to a team of editors and they will go through them with a fine-toothed comb, checking spelling, grammar, and continuity. We'd need to think of a catchy title…"

"One Love," Ezra blurted out, turning bright red from embarrassment from interrupting the man.

Adam clapped and smiled, "Perfect! Absolutely brilliant. Okay so then we go into production and get you out to the public. We'll set up book signings and a book tour. Probably starting with the east coast states and once it really booms, we'll send you to California, with the possibility of some international travel. I'd say within two and a half weeks you could see you book on the shelves of book stores everywhere."

Aria and Ezra both glanced at each other. Aria decided to fill Adam in, "We actually already had a release date picked out. See, I go to Rosewood Day and Ezra teaches there. Our relationship isn't illegal, but he could lose a lot if the school board knew that he married his student. We were thinking June 18th as the release date, since that is the day I graduate and our relationship can become public."

"Absolutely brilliant. I love it. I think that can be arranged. It sounds like you have an amazing head on your shoulders. So what are the two of you thinking?" Adam leaned against his desk, hands folded in front of him.

Ezra smiled, "I think we'll take tonight and talk it over. Can we call you tomorrow?"

"Definitely," he took a pen and wrote on a large manila envelope, "that is my personal cell phone number. You can call me and let me know what you decide as soon as you have figured it out. In the meantime, just to get the ball rolling, I'd like your permission to turn the books over to my editors. They are still completely yours. I just thought that if you do decide to use us, we won't have lost any time."

Aria nodded, "That sounds good. What's in the envelope?"

"This is the contract you would be signing. It's fairly standard. You can have your lawyer look over it and let us know how that sits with you." Ezra took the envelope that Adam extended toward him.

The couple stood and shook Ezra's hand before exiting the office and heading back toward the lobby. They bid the secretary a good evening and headed for the elevator. Neither spoke until they reached the car, "Wow."

She nodded slowly, "I know what you mean."

"Know any good lawyers?" Ezra chuckled, turning the envelope over in his hands and peeking inside at the large stack of papers.

Aria grinned, "Actually I do." She took out her phone and sent a text to her friend. Within a few minutes, she received a reply. "Let's go to Spencer's house."

"I forgot her mom was a lawyer." As they approached the Hastings' house, Ezra gasped, "We're going to have to tell her mom about our relationship, aren't we?"

Aria shrugged, "We don't really have to, but I think it might be easier."

He inhaled deeply before climbing out of the car. Mrs. Hastings would be the first person outside their immediate circle that they were telling about their relationship. Aria knocked and opened the front door without waiting for a response, motioning for Ezra to follow her. She led him into the kitchen where Spencer and her mom were having a discussion, "Aria, it's so good to see you. Mr. Fitz, what are you doing here?"

"Mrs. Hastings, we need to talk to you. We need some legal assistance. First I should let you know that Ezra and I got married a little over two months ago." Aria blurted out since she couldn't think of a good way to lead up to it.

She nodded, "I know."

"You know?" Aria's eyes instantly shifted to Spencer, who looked as stunned as Aria.

Veronica nodded and poured them all a cup of coffee, "Yes, I know. I took some things down to the barn one day while Spencer was in school, to store in the extra room. The invitation was lying right on your desk. I wasn't snooping."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Spencer demanded.

She shrugged, "Why should I? It's none of my business. I assumed Byron and Ella were aware of it. So what is this legal help you need?"

Ezra, who had been quiet the whole time, handed her the envelope, "Aria and I wrote a book together. Well we each wrote a book and the publisher thought it would be better as a double feature. Anyway, this is the contract he gave us to look over. We wanted to make sure it is legitimate and isn't going to take advantage of us." He handed her the envelope, "We'll pay you of course."

"Don't even worry about it. This can be your freebie." Veronica skimmed the contract and nodded, "This looks reasonable. There are some things we could adjust, but overall this looks like a good deal."

Aria sighed, "Thank you for looking this over. Next time we go to the publisher, will you go with us?"

"Sure. Sounds good to me. So, how's the married thing going for you?" Aria could hear the curiosity in the woman's voice.

She smiled, "It's great. I mean, we have to keep it a secret until graduation so it is a little difficult, but I have the best husband in the world so it's worth it."

"That's nice. I've got to get up to bed. But I'm glad you stopped by. Just let me know when you are going back to the publisher." Veronica wished them a good night and went upstairs to her room.

Spencer was the first to speak, "There's no way the invitation was on my desk. I had it _in_ my desk for a few days, but it's been in my closet since. She was snooping in my room."

"Are you sure? I mean if she heard it somewhere, we need to find out because we still have a month of school." Aria whispered.

Her friend nodded, "I don't think she heard it anywhere. I mean, there's always been a small amount of gossip about Ezra and a student, but that has even died down in the last month or so."

"Okay, well try to get anything else out of your mom that you can. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Aria hugged her friend and led Ezra back outside.

Once they were home, Aria was flipping through the take-out menus when Ezra couldn't take the silence, "There were rumors about me and a student?"

"Yeah," Aria replied nonchalantly.

He shook his head in disbelief, "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Well," she sat at the table across from him, "it basically started as girls wondering _if_ you would 'do it' with a student. Then there were the rumors of a girl in your car. At one point or another, half my junior class was accused of sleeping with you. A month ago, it started to die down when Hanna pointed out to the one girl that you were wearing a wedding ring now. No one believes that you would marry a student. I also never mentioned it because we were already extremely careful and I was never one of the girls accused."

Ezra looked shocked, "After all that and you weren't in the rumors. That's actually pretty funny." He picked up the menu for the Chinese restaurant with a pouty face. Aria smiled and took it from him so she could place their order.

The next morning, Ezra called Adam to let him know they would take the offer, but would go over specifics of the contract at their next meeting with their lawyer present. "That is stupendous. When can you come back to sign some papers?"

"We were thinking Monday afternoon. Aria is leaving on Tuesday for a week." Ezra answered.

He could hear Adam smiling on the phone, "Sounds great. I'll see you then."

"Can you get ahold of Veronica to see if she is available Monday afternoon to go to the publisher's with us?" Ezra wondered.

She smiled and called their lawyer. She hung up the phone a minute later, "She said she is available. So now what do you want to do?"

"I want to take you upstairs and make love to you," Ezra smiled.

She stood and took his hand, "I like your honesty."

By Sunday evening, Aria was exhausted from being in the bedroom practically all weekend. Ezra said we wanted to 'stock up' for the week she would be gone on her senior trip. She wasn't complaining. She loved this part about being with Ezra. She couldn't believe she had waited so long.

"I don't want you to go," Ezra whined as he rolled over and wrapped his arms around her.

She kissed his forehead, "I know, but you said you didn't mind me going."

"That was before you actually began packing." He began kissing the side of her neck.

Aria giggled, but pushed herself away from him and got up, "No. I need a break." She smiled at his pretend sob. "What has gotten into you?"

"Do you know how lonely it's going to be here? At least in the apartment, it was small and cozy so when I was there alone, it wasn't as pronounced." He decided to get up and get dressed so he could go downstairs.

She smiled as she slipped on her underwear and Ezra's t-shirt, "Maybe there will be a cancellation with the chaperones and they'll ask you to go."

"No," he sighed, "I wouldn't do that to you. We are together every day and every night. You should be able to go out with your friends without worrying if I wanted to do something with you. It's only a week. It'll be fine. Come with me, I'm making dinner."

"Oh boy," she took the hand he offered and followed him down the stairs.

Monday afternoon arrived quickly and they arrived at the publisher to find Veronica and Spencer waiting, "I hope you don't mind I came along."

"Give me a break Spence. It's great that you came." Aria hugged her friend before leading them all into the building and back up to the twelfth floor. The secretary greeted them all and led them straight to Adam's office. After introductions, they got down to the business of signing the contract. After Veronica tweaked a few things in the contract, they were ready to sign. Ezra's hand shook as he signed his contract but Aria was cool as a cucumber. He handed over their first advance, a check for fifty thousand dollars.

"Congratulations you two! Let's make a book!" Adam cracked a bottle of champagne and handed everyone a glass. They toasted to the success of the book and to all their health. Veronica and Spencer excused themselves, leaving Aria and Ezra to discuss specifics. "Okay, we are going to need to do a photo shoot. We'll need an author picture for the book itself and we'll need some pictures for promotional use. We'll go over the design concept for the cover, fonts, and things like that. We can do all of that once you return from your trip. Where are you going?"

Aria smiled, "My senior class is going to Florida."

"This is such a good angle. A teacher/student relationship that actually worked out." Adam pondered the idea.

She wasn't sure she liked that idea, "I really don't want to use that angle to sell books. I mean people are going to find out one way or the other, but I really don't want to feed them that information. Ezra loves his job and doesn't want to do anything to further jeopardize that."

Adam looked disappointed, but nodded, "Agreed. But if you ever decide to change your job, I want to be the first to know."

"All right," Ezra smiled, "I'll make sure I do that."

They all stood and shook hands again. Aria and Ezra left and decided to go out to dinner to celebrate. Ezra hadn't wanted to say anything before, but he was about to burst, "Fifty thousand dollars for our advance? Does he really think it's going to do that well?"

"He must. So I was thinking we could open another savings account for only our book money. Keep it away from our regular funds and regular savings account. That way it's out of sight, out of mind." Aria suggested.

Ezra nodded, "Exactly what I was thinking."

They decided to go to the restaurant where Ezra proposed, hoping they would be able to get a table. When they arrived, there was a line to the door. Ezra led Aria to the podium to see how long the wait would be. The staff began whispering to each other and before Ezra could say a word, the hostess grabbed two menus, "Right this way. Your table is ready."

The confused couple followed the woman to a table. Before the woman could walk away, Aria stopped her, "Why did you give us a table?"

"Because you are our favorite." The woman giggled at their puzzled expressions, "You are part of new employee training. Your proposal is shown to everyone that works here. It helps us relate to customers. That was so romantic. When is the wedding?"

Ezra, still stunned, smiled and replied, "Actually 6 days after the proposal."

"That is so nice. The two of you are so lucky. Well anyway, Amy is going to be your server. She'll be over in just a minute." The woman smiled again before leaving the couple alone.

After a minute of silence, Aria broke into a fit of giggles. Ezra jumped at the sudden outburst, but joined in her laughter. They were still trying to control themselves as they were ordering their food. They were in the middle of their dinner when they were interrupted when someone approached their table, "Aria, Mr. Fitz, fancy meeting you here."

"Denise, how have you been?" Aria greeted her classmate calmly.

She smiled, "I'm fine. My parents brought me here to celebrate. I got into Penn State. What are you two doing here?"

"Well I've been writing a book for a while. I gave it to Mr. Fitz to read over and basically just edit it and tell me if it was any good. He gave it to his friend who is a publisher and his company wants to publish my book. We were just at the publisher's office signing my contract. He brought me here to celebrate." Aria replied excitedly.

Denise's face changed from a smirk to a genuine smile, "That's so exciting. So you are really going to have a book published?"

"Yeah so I'll make you a deal. You buy my book and I'll buy your painting in the school lobby. I've wanted to ask you about it for a while, but I just haven't run into you." Aria smiled back.

She nodded, "That sounds like a plan. I'll talk to you about it tomorrow. Good night." She waved and rejoined her parents.

"That was close," Ezra released that breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

Aria nodded, "Yeah, but I've gotten so used to secrets that I always seem to have a really good explanation."

"What do you mean?" Ezra asked curiously.

She sighed, "Do you remember before we got married, you said that the girls and I had a strange bond and I told you I'd tell you a story sometime?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I remember."

Aria smiled, "Do you want to hear it while you help me pack for tomorrow?"

"I really want to hear the story, but I really don't want you to pack," he whined.

She slipped some cash into the check and stood to lead Ezra out of the restaurant, "Well if you prefer I can go naked."

"No, let's pack you some clothes." He smiled and wanted to reach for her hand, but resisted because he hadn't seen Denise leave yet.

The trip home was uneventful and Aria spent the rest of the evening telling Ezra about 'A' and all the problems they had because of it. He was completely shocked, "Why didn't you ever go to the police?"

"We tried, but there wasn't anything they did to help us. Hanna figured out who 'A' was originally, but then got hit by a car and forgot everything. It was so hard on us. We were just trying to protect each other." Aria sighed, trying to hold back the tears that always appeared when she really talked about the whole ordeal.

He pulled her into his arms, "In a way I wish you would have told me because I could have been there for you, but I know I would have wanted to protect you too and that could have just made things worse."

"Baby, can we go to bed? I would love to continue to talk about this, but I'm leaving for a week and I want to spend all night in your arms. Since we've been able to have sex again, I hate not making love to you and a week is going to be bad." Aria pulled on the skin of his neck gently with her teeth.

He kissed her passionately, "Lead the way. I'll be up in just a minute. I'm just going to grab a bottle of water."

"Make that two. And hurry." She went up the stairs and when he was sure she was in the bedroom, he slipped a small package into her suitcase. He hurried to the kitchen for the water and raced up the stairs to enjoy the rest of their night.

The next morning when the alarm went off, part of Ezra wanted to turn it off and cuddle with his wife so she would miss her flight and be forced to stay. The part of Ezra that wasn't selfish kissed Aria's neck and told her it was time to get up. Unlike normal mornings, Aria hopped out of bed with a smile and took a shower without any grumbling or complaining.

Ezra couldn't hold in his amusement while he shaved, "Why can't you ever be this excited to see me in the morning?"

"Because I'm more content to stay in bed in your arms. I hate getting up and facing the same things I do every day when lying next to you is better," she explained as she toweled her hair.

He kissed her before going back into the bedroom, "So you'd rather go to Florida than stay in bed with me?"

"I just wish you were going to be in my bed in Florida. That would make this trip perfect." She tossed her toiletries into her travel case and packed it in her suitcase.

He hugged her tightly, "I know. I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too." They carried her suitcase and duffle bag down the stairs. "I feel like I'm forgetting something."

Ezra glanced around, "Camera. Purse. Suitcase. Money. Backpack. I don't know. I can't think of anything."

"I think I'm just being paranoid. Alright, I'm going to put this stuff in the car. Will you get me a cup of coffee?" Aria asked sweetly.

He smiled, "Why don't I put this stuff in the car and you can get the coffee? I always mess yours up."

"Deal." Aria kissed him and went to find her morning pick-me-up.

Aria had to arrive at the school early to have her bags checked by the staff. The airport security only checked for illegal things. The seniors were having their bags checked for things like alcohol, cigarettes, porn, and anything else the school would find inappropriate.

As the girls sat in a room full of people, Ezra approached, "Miss Montgomery, can I see you for a minute? It's about your book."

She nodded, "Sure. I'll be right back." She accompanied Ezra down the hall to his classroom. "What's wrong with the book?"

"Nothing. Mr. Douglas can't go on the trip. His wife was admitted to the hospital. She broke her leg. The school asked me to step in as chaperone. I told them no but they practically begged because there is no one else. I know this is your trip and I said I wouldn't go if they asked, but if I don't go then there may not be a trip. Would it be okay with you if I go?" Ezra whispered quickly.

She sighed, "It's fine if you go. I mean, as long as we pretend that we aren't together. You just do your thing and let me be with my friends. I'm sure we can have a few private moments though." She winked before she headed back to the auditorium.

Ezra hurried home to pack quickly and he was to meet them at the airport. When he arrived, Mrs. Glossenger, who was also chaperoning, handed Ezra his ticket. He approached Aria, "Miss Montgomery, Mrs. Glossenger said you left this on the bus." He handed her the bag containing her laptop, the one thing she was forgetting at home.

"Thank you." She slid the strap over her shoulder and Hanna let out a slight giggle, earning a nudge from Spencer.

The flight from Philadelphia to Daytona Beach was short and after arriving at their hotel, they had enough time to put their luggage in their rooms and change before going to the restaurant. They all ate and had a great time together. Ezra was good about keeping his distance.

Spencer, Hanna, Emily, and Aria were sharing a room and decided that it was too early to just sit in their room. They changed into their shorts and left the hotel to go stand in the ocean.

They waded in the tide and took goofy pictures in the sand. Emily could see Ezra approaching, "I thought you said he was going to keep his distance."

"He is. He could just be the chaperone coming to check on us." Aria said with a fake grin. She didn't know what he was doing.

Hanna smiled and waved as he got closer, "Hey Mr. Fitz, what's up?"

"Nothing much Hanna. I just wanted to make sure you know curfew is at eleven and if you are going further away than the beach you need to inform a chaperone." Ezra spoke very authoritatively.

Aria nodded, "Thank you Mr. Fitz. We thought about walking down that way for some ice cream in a few minutes. Just to let you know."

"Okay, have fun."

He turned to go but Hanna interrupted, "Mr. Fitz, will you take a picture for us?" She handed him the camera and the girls grouped together. He snapped a few pictures before Spencer took the camera and pulled him into the middle of their group. She held the camera up and took a few shots of all of them. Spencer pushed Aria and Ezra together and took a few shots of the two of them, before the girls raced down the beach and away from their English teacher.

Aria punched her friend playfully in the arm, "What was that about Spence?"

"I just thought you might like a picture of the two of you, since he's here and all." She grinned and held the door open so they could all enter the ice cream shop.

It was just before ten when the girls wandered back to the hotel. They entered their room and Hanna insisted on getting a shower. By the time she exited the steamy bathroom, the other girls were sound asleep. As Hanna was just getting ready to climb into bed, there was a knock on the door. She opened it slowly, "Hey Ez… Mr. Fitz. What's up?"

"Just doing room checks Hanna. Is everyone here?" Ezra peeked into the room.

Hanna opened the door a little further, "Yeah. They decided to pass out while I was in the shower."

"Okay. Set your alarm for no later than seven tomorrow. We pull out of the parking lot eight to go to Disney. Good night." Ezra continued to the next room and Hanna closed the door.

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	26. Chapter 25

**I know it's been a while since my update and I hope you will all forgive me. And I'm sorry that this is a short chapter. I will try my hardest to update sooner than this next time. **

**Thanks to my reviewers: .dreamers, crazyatbest, SolitudeMyLove, HarrylovesGinny09, TheCdKnight, princessjasmine12, PLL Luver, H8atedit, .2011, ., MzPink4, Ashley, DM Chica24, susie, Littleliarxoxo, PrettyLittleFan, Televison Lover, Notinyourlifetimehoney, Emm-Meg, WWKMDbracelets, krazyfan1**

**That's more reviewers than I've had in a while. Must have been a good chapter :)**

Spencer was the first one awake the next morning. She was dressed and had done her hair and makeup by the time the other girls were waking up. Aria considered a shower, but knowing they would be on rides all day, she decided it wasn't worth it. As the girls packed their day bags, Emily began laughing. As the girls stared at her curiously, Emily pointed to her head. They joined in laughing when they realized they were all wearing the same ponytail.

They hurried downstairs and were the last to arrive at the bus, "Nice of you girls to join us. Let's go," Ezra teased as he hurried them onto the bus.

The ride to Disney was uneventful and most of the class slept through most of the hour and a half trip. The girls were all preoccupied with their own thing. Emily sat staring out the window, occasionally texting Cyn. Hanna leaned against Emily and had her feet stretched across the aisle, resting on Caleb's lap. Spencer surfed the web on her phone and Aria scribbled song lyrics and story ideas in her notebook.

By the time they arrived at the park, they were all anxious to get moving. As much as Aria wanted time with her friends, she was missing Ezra. She called him away from the group, "What are your duties today?"

"I don't really have any. I need to make sure everyone stays out of trouble, but everyone is going off on their own, so I really just need to make sure everyone gets back on the bus tonight. Why?" Ezra wondered.

She smiled, "Well Caleb and two of his friends are going to be walking around with us, so if you wanted to walk around with us to make it an even group, that would be okay."

Ezra looked thoughtful, "That seems like it could work. I mean, I'll try to behave."

"Okay," Aria led him back over to the group, "since Fitz is old, he's got no one to hang out with today so I told him he could hang out with us. Cool?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Ezra leaned in close to Aria, "You are so getting spanked for that."

"Bring it on Fitz, "she said loudly, "I'll kick your ass at ski ball." She gave him a subtle wink.

The group laughed as they headed inside the gates. They spent all day riding different rides, everyone taking turns sitting with Hanna. "You know, I'm so excited for this baby," she started whining, "but this is the first time I've been here and I can't do anything."

"Why don't we go find a ride that's 'baby-mama friendly' while everyone else rides this one?" Aria suggested and pulled Hanna to her feet.

Hanna shrugged and reluctantly followed her friend, "I don't know what we're going to find."

"There's lots," Aria took out the map and scanned the park, "See there's a carousal, paddle boats, the ferris wheel, and I'm sure there are plenty of others."

Aria and Hanna rode a total of seven rides together before deciding to find out what happened to the group. They texted Spencer and Emily to find out where they should meet up. They were all at the pizza parlor near the ride they had been in line for when Aria and Hanna left. They were thrilled that there were two large pizzas waiting when they arrived.

"It's about time! We knew you were on your way so we kept the guys away from the pizza, but they were about ready to mutiny." Spencer pulled a chair out for Hanna, who looked like she was about ready to take a bite out of the middle of the pizza.

She grabbed the first slice, "I am so hungry!"

"Where'd you guys go?" Caleb wondered, helping himself to a piece of pizza.

Aria answered for Hanna as she shoved the pizza into her mouth, "We went to find some 'Hanna-friendly' rides."

"Didn't want to jar the baby." Hanna mumbled through a mouth full.

Ezra gasped, "You're pregnant?"

Aria coughed into her soda as she tried to stifle her laugh. He knew full well Hanna was pregnant, but he was so good at playing along. Hanna nodded vigorously and everyone laughed as a piece of cheese slid out of her mouth.

"Well congratulations then." Ezra winked discreetly at Aria and grabbed a slice of pizza for himself.

They all spent the rest of the evening strolling around the park, looking in shops and finding food to snack on. By the time they got to the bus, Hanna's ankles were so swollen, she had to take her shoes off and was resting them on Caleb's shoulder, while lying in Emily's lap.

It was nearly ten o'clock when they reached the hotel. Hanna and Caleb went up to the room so she could lay down and he could rub her feet. Emily went for a walk so she could call Cyn and talk without interruption.

Spencer, Aria, and Ezra sat on the edge of the pool with their feet dangled in the water. They didn't talk much, but Ezra stood after he received a text message, "Aria, can I steal you for a little while?"

"Sure. Spence, you going be okay without me?" Aria stood and grabbed her shoes.

She nodded and swirled her feet in the water, "I'll be fine. Figure I'll give it another twenty minutes and Hanna will be asleep. Then I'll go up and get ready for bed. Don't forget check in is at midnight."

"Don't you forget," Ezra replied and pointed toward the other side of the pool. Toby was just coming through the gate.

Spencer jumped and ran around the pool to throw herself in his waiting arms.

Ezra led Aria to the beach and once they were a safe distance from the hotel, he took her hand. They walked silently for another few minutes before Aria spoke, "I wanted to talk to you, so I'm glad we got a chance to take a walk."

"What's on your mind?" Ezra wondered, squeezing her hand.

She sighed, "There are so many things that I have been thinking about lately. I know I'm supposed to go to college after high school and figure out what I'm supposed to be doing with my life, but I have so many options that I'm a little lost."

"You are supposed to go to college. You aren't supposed to fall in love with your English teacher. You aren't supposed to get married in high school. There are so many things that society expects but you aren't one to follow the normal routine. You can do whatever you want. What are you thinking about doing instead of college?" he inquired, pulling her closer to him.

"Well we've got the book that's coming out. I've got the other book I've been working on. And, I've seriously been considering calling some of the record guys, seeing what they want. I have been thinking about this about I really miss singing. And I mean, unless you are just being nice, I'm really good. I think I want to give it a shot." She looked to her husband for his input.

He smiled and kissed her hand, "I will support you in whatever you want to do. Just promise me one thing."

"Anything." She replied, not even waiting to hear what he was going to say.

Ezra kissed her sweetly, "Promise me that we will have a real honeymoon this summer before you go touring all over the world."

"I promise. Anything for you Mr. Fitz," she teased.

He brushed the hair away from her neck and began trailing kisses along her collarbone, "I love you Mrs. Fitz."

A startled gasp behind them made both of their hearts stop, "Mrs. Fitz?"

**Thanks for reading. Please review!**


	27. Chapter 26

**Thanks to all my reviewers: SolitudeMyLove, H8atedit, HarrylovesGinny09, krysty508, krazyfan1, overload-j, msbookworm93, thehelloitsme, .dreamers, Princessjasmine12, MzPink4, lornajoe, St0ryTeller, PLL Luver, PrettyLittleBethany, Pretty-Little-Ezria, Notinyourlifetimehoney, i-love-twilight-and-chocolate, PrettyLittleFan, TeamEzria13x**

**This is another kind of short chapter, but I wanted to give you an update for the long weekend. Planned on getting it out on Thursday, but it didn't work. Enjoy…**

They turned to find a red-faced Jackie staring at them with fire in her eyes, "Jackie…"

"You married her? She's your student! She's just a kid and you chose her over me. I don't get it. I'm calling the principal right now and you are going to be fired before you get back to Rosewood. I'd call the cops but I really don't want to get Ezra arrested."

Aria stood and walked toward her, "Call the principal. He already knows. And calling the cops wouldn't help. There's nothing illegal about this. What are you doing here anyway? Did you really think that following him all the way to Florida would prove your love for him or something?"

"You know nothing of our relationship, so stay out of it," Jackie fumed.

Aria shrugged, "I can't do that. See, even if Ezra were to hit his head and lose all his memories of how much of a bitch you are, you can't get away from me. I'm his wife, legally. So let's just say, he goes back to you, there would be an extremely lengthy divorce process. All that aside though, Ezra is very happy with me and there is nothing some lying, two-faced whore like you can do about it."

"Is that right? Ezra, you know that you belong with me. You know I would give up everything I have to be with you. I love you so much. I've changed. We were on and off for a while. You know that this kid can never make you as happy as I can." Jackie tried to persuade Ezra that she was more worth it than Aria.

Ezra had to stop Aria from lunging at Jackie, "Okay, say I decided to forget all about Aria and my marriage vows, then what? You and I get together and things go okay for awhile, like always. Then you see something better you like, a shiny new plaything, and you leave me for him, again. But I'm not going to forget about Aria. I love Aria. I didn't know I was capable of love, real love, until I met her. She makes me who I want to be. She and I aren't single units anymore. We are an "us" and there is nothing that's going to change that. Jackie, I am done asking you, I'm telling you to leave me and my wife alone. The next time you contact or come near either of us, I will call the cops and press charges for harassment."

"You are making a big mistake Ezra. She will get tired of being with you soon enough and you will come crawling back to me." Jackie sounded like she knew the future.

Aria couldn't keep her mouth shut, "You are right for once, Jackie. I may get tired of him, but that's only after a passionate night spent in our bed together. I mean it's amazing what he can do. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"You bitch!" Jackie screamed and before she knew what she was doing, she threw a handful of sand in Aria's face.

Aria's hands flew to her eyes, "Ahh, my eyes!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you, you bitch! I'm calling the police." Ezra pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. Jackie didn't want to stick around for the cops to show up and ran away. Ezra talked to the dispatcher and led Aria away from the beach to the street so the ambulance could meet them. Once he was sure they had his location, he called Mrs. Glossenger to let her know what was happening and that she would have to take over for a while.

When they arrived at the hospital, they put Aria in a room and set her up with a continuous eye wash. While she was being treated, the police interviewed her about what happened. Ezra gave them all the information he could about Jackie and his contact information. Once they were alone, Aria reached out for Ezra's hand.

"Aria, I am so sorry. This is all my fault." Ezra said, practically in tears himself.

She pulled him closer until she could reach up and feel his face and then she gave it a nice slap, "This is not your fault. She is demented. She didn't take any of the hints you gave her. She didn't even get it when you told her point blank to back the hell off. She was just wound too tight and finally snapped."

"You didn't exactly help with your comments." Ezra chuckled and pulled up a chair next to her.

Aria sighed, "What was that about anyway? You didn't have sex with her, right?"

"No I didn't. That was the problem. I told her everything that I told you and she couldn't believe that she wasn't worth that to me. I wasn't going to complicate our relationship with sex since it was already complicated enough. I think there were only a handful of times we stayed in the same bed, just because that's where we fell asleep watching the television. Are you going to press charges?" Ezra wondered, not wanting to overwhelm her.

She nodded slowly, "I think that she isn't going to back off and this will at least slow her down a little."

"I want you to feel safe. I don't want her to ever hurt you again." Ezra kissed her hand.

"So we'll get a restraining order. We'll move to Antarctica. I'm thinking after a few more years she'll wear herself out." Aria tried to get comfortable, "Will you go see how much longer I have to be flushing my eyes?"

Ezra stood, "Sure. I think I see the cop anyway. I'll go talk to him and I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay. I'll be right here." Aria joked.

After what seemed like forever, Ezra returned, "How are you doing?"

She could tell there was uneasiness in his voice, "I'm fine. What's going on? What happened?"

"You aren't going to have to worry about Jackie hurting you again." Ezra stated blankly.

Aria reached for him again, "Why? What is going on?"

"Jackie is dead." He didn't know any way to ease into it.

"What do you mean she's dead?" Aria couldn't believe what she was hearing.

He sat on the edge of her bed and rubbed her hand, "She was in the rental car heading for the highway when the cops saw the vehicle and compared the plates to the list of the plates they were looking for. They think she panicked and they don't know if she was trying to outrun them or what, but she took the onramp too fast and the SUV she was driving rolled over a couple times and into oncoming traffic. She was hit by a semi that didn't even have a chance to slow down. There was nothing they could do for her."

"That is terrible. I mean I didn't like her, but I never wanted anything like this to happen." Aria felt bad for the poor woman.

Ezra sighed, "Well anyway, the doctor said he'll be back in a few minutes to see how well the flush is working."

"Are you okay? I know you loved her once." Aria was concerned for her husband.

He nodded, "Yeah. I'm fine. I mean it's a horrible thing that happened, but I have a problem feeling sorry for her."

There was a knock on the door and the doctor entered, "Hey there. Let's see how we're doing."

"We're going to take these things out of my eyes?" Aria hoped.

The doctor put his gloves on, "Yes. We will remove the flushes in your eyes and we'll see if there is any sand left and if there is any damage. If there is still sand, we'll keep flushing and if there isn't any sand or damage, we can get you out of here soon."

Aria sat up as instructed and the doctor carefully removed the cups from her eyes. As she slowly opened her eyes, her vision was blurry, "Everything is fuzzy."

"We'll give it a few minutes. I'm just going to inspect your eyes with this light to see any sand or damage." The doctor examined each of Aria's eyes closely. "I don't see any more sand particles, but there looks like there is a good sized scratch on your left eye."

Aria didn't know what that meant, "So what will happen to my eye?"

"Hard to tell yet. Do you have glasses?" the doctor inquired.

She shook her head, "I don't wear glasses."

"I'm going to give you some special eye drops. They should help repair the damage. I recommend you wear glasses to help prevent anything further from getting in your eye and damaging it. You can either wear sunglasses or get those style frames that aren't corrective. A pair of safety glasses or goggles would be best, but I doubt you'll want to wear them. You'll need to follow up with your optometrist when you get home. I can't say what your vision will be like other than blurry. Your eye should heal fine but I can't say for sure right now. As long as you use the eye drops as directed and follow up. Do you have any questions?" Dr. Holden wondered.

They both shook their heads, "No, I don't think so."

"Alright. I'm going to write everything up and send the nurse in with your discharge papers." He stood up from his seat and exited the room.

"How are you doing?" Ezra wondered, concerned for his wife.

She sighed, "I'm okay. I mean it's really bothering me that my vision is so fuzzy. My right eye is starting to get clearer, but my left eye is really blurry."

"It'll be ok. We'll get you to the eye doctor as soon as we get home. Do you want to go home early?" Ezra was prepared to call Ella to fly down to get her, since he still had an obligation to the school.

Aria chuckled, "I'm staying here to finish my trip. We'll just do what the doctor said and I'll get glasses to wear."

The nurse appeared and went over the discharge instructions and the eye drop instructions. She handed Aria a roll of medical tape, "This is for your eye when you sleep. You need to tape it shut so it doesn't open while you are unaware and you get something else in it. One strip from your forehead to your cheek should do it. I gave you the easy to remove stuff, so it shouldn't pull on you eyebrows or eyelashes."

After signing all the paperwork, Aria and Ezra headed outside where a taxi was waiting. They snuggled in the backseat and when they arrived at the hotel, Ezra helped Aria maneuver the stairs to her room since her depth perception was off. He told her he'd call once he got to his room and as soon as Aria entered, the girls hurried toward her, "What happened? Mrs. Glossenger just told us there had been an emergency and you went to the hospital. What happened to your eyes?"

Aria sat down and told them the story of what happened up to the hospital. Hanna was so angry her face was turning red, "Wait til I get my hands on her. I'll kill her, I swear I will."

"No need for that," Aria mumbled.

They all looked shocked, "Aren't you mad?"

She nodded, "I'm furious, but getting mad won't make any difference now."

They all looked confused so Aria told them what happened to Jackie. After the initial shock, Aria went on to explain about the damage to her eye. She was so exhausted, she was almost asleep when Ezra finally called.

"Hey, I didn't want to bother you, but I figured I should tell you what's up. Every day, Mrs. Glossenger calls Principal Stevens every night after check-in to let him know everything is okay. Well with our incident, they have to file a formal incident report, which goes through the school board. They will know what happened."

Aria sat straight upright, causing the other girls to jump, "Oh my god Ezra. What are we going to do?"

"Well, Principal Stevens, Mrs. Glossenger, and I are going to meet with the school board members when we return. Best case scenario, I'll be scolded and allowed to continue teaching at Rosewood. Worst case scenario, they will fire me and inform the State Board of Education and I'll probably have my teaching license revoked. Possibly jail time. I guess the best we can hope for is they will ask me to resign. At least that way I could still find a teaching job. Aria, are you still there? Please say something." Ezra hadn't heard a peep from her in a few minutes.

She was trying to keep from sobbing, "Ezra, this is all my fault. If I hadn't antagonized her, this wouldn't have happened. We were so close and now you are going to lose your job because of me."

"Don't worry about it tonight. Things will look better in the morning. As strange as it seems, Principal Stevens is on our side. Just try and get some rest tonight. We have a fun-filled day tomorrow." Ezra's tone was so soft and light-hearted that Aria couldn't help but be sucked into his good mood.

"Okay. I'm going to bed. We'll talk tomorrow." Aria and Ezra said goodnight, but as soon as she had hung up, she began crying again. The girls sat around her, comforting her, until she fell asleep.

**Thanks so much for reading and please review! It will help me update faster! **


	28. Chapter 27

**So I know that I'm a horrible person for not updating! I suck. I wish I could have gotten this banged out quicker. I've been in the middle of planning my wedding, my fiancé and I finally got a place of our own so I've been trying to set up the house, and I just found out a month ago that I'm expecting! I'm actually 18 weeks along so I missed the whole first trimester! I'm sorry this chapter is so short. I expect one or two more chapters before the final chapter. Hope you enjoy! (Thanks to all my reviewers and readers who have stuck with me. I'm afraid there are too many to list you all but you know who you are!)**

She wasn't sure how, but Ezra was right when he said things would look better in the morning, literally and figuratively. The vision in her right eye was almost back to normal, and her left eye seemed a little clearer around the edges. Her spirit lifted immediately when she saw Ezra smiling and laughing with the chaperones when she peeked out her window.

"Here," Hanna handed Aria a pair of sunglasses and a pair of style frames.

Aria looked amazed, "Where did you get these?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm all about the accessories. I brought five pair of sunglasses." Hanna put her own on her face before exiting their room and heading down by the pool to find Caleb.

Emily was sitting on the bed twirling her fingers, giggling while talking to her girlfriend on the phone. Spencer grabbed both of her friends and led them outside so they wouldn't miss the bus.

Mrs. Glossenger approached Aria, "How are you this morning dear?"

"I'm okay. My right eye is pretty good today." Aria replied, lowering the sunglasses so her teacher could see.

She nodded, "It looks good. And don't worry about that other thing. Nothing is going to happen to him."

"I hope you are right," Aria turned from her and ran right into Emily, "I'm sorry Em, I didn't see you."

Emily couldn't help but chuckle and Aria laughed as well when she realized what she said. Aria walked over to Ezra, "What are we doing today Mr. Fitz?"

"Well, the itinerary is laser tag, mini-golf, and go karts. All of which seems like it could be no fun for you." Ezra hadn't even thought about Aria not being able to participate.

Aria grinned, "Sounds like a fun time. Anything you can do, I can do better, right?"

"In your dreams Montgomery." Ezra replied loudly as another group of students approached.

Her eyes got big, "Fine Fitz. You and me. One-on-one mini golf. We'll see who is better." She smirked and hurried to catch up with her friends.

Aria watched Emily and Spencer racing around the track, wishing she could join them. Hanna decided to spend the day at the beach with Caleb. Aria decided she would try a racing on a small track while her friends weren't paying attention. She hurried to the smallest track that was there as the cars were filling up. She hopped in the last one and made sure her glasses were in place. The green light came on and all the cars flew forward. Aria took the first turn fine and put the car right into a wall. She laughed and continued around the track. She was so thrilled that she could still do this, but her eyes were beginning to sting. She decided one was enough and hurried back to her friends.

"Hey Aria, where'd you go?" Emily asked as Aria approached the group.

Aria shrugged, "Bathroom."

"I feel bad that you aren't having any fun. What do you want to do?" Spencer was concerned for her friend.

She smiled, "Don't worry about me. I think I'm going to find Ezra to see if he's ready for some mini-golf. I'll catch up with you guys later."

Aria wandered around the park, looking for any sign of Ezra. She was starting to give up when she saw him sitting on a bench, reading a book. She laughed as she approached, "I can't believe that you are reading a book. We're in Florida. Go do something. You are starting to look like the stuffy English teacher you really are."

"Hey now, I was just waiting for you. Kicking your butt in mini-golf, remember?" He tucked the book into his messenger bag.

She raised an eyebrow, "And you are carrying a purse now I see."

"It's a bag, not a purse. I have to carry everyone's medical forms, a first aid kit, contact information, and a bunch of other stuff. So bite me Montgomery." Ezra stood and motioned toward the golf course.

She got closer to him, "You name the time and place sir."

"Maybe later." He chuckled and signed them into the golf course.

Aria had a devastating loss, even with Ezra giving her a lot of do-overs, "Okay, fine. You win. I can't see anyway."

"We'll have a rematch once your eye heals." He chuckled and turned their clubs back in to the golf shack.

Aria stiffened, "What if its too damaged to fix? What if its going to be blurry forever?"

She began to cry and Ezra instinctively pulled her into his chest with his arms wrapped securely around her, "It's going to be ok. Your eye will be just fine. I know it."

They stood like that for a couple minutes until a few girls that Aria knew from her time on the yearbook staff one year walked up and cleared their throats, "What's going on here?"

Aria knew to play along, she turned to the girls, still crying, "You guys, I'm so worried about my eye. What if I lose my eyesight?"

Empathy flooded the girls' faces, "Oh Aria, it'll be okay." Kate pulled her into a hug and led her away from Ezra so they all could chat.

It was after dinner before Ezra could talk to Aria again, "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing better. Kate and the other girls bought me ice cream and we hung out. It kept my mind off things anyway. They didn't ask about you, other than Molly said that it must have been incredible to be snuggled up to you and she thought maybe she'd pretend to sprain her ankle, just so you could comfort her too." Aria replied, poking his nose.

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, because that will be happening."

"Well I'm going to get Spencer put those drops in my eyes and hang out in my room for the night. I'm starting to get a headache, probably from straining so much to try to see." Aria brushed her finger on the back of his hand quickly.

He nodded, "All right, well I'll check on you later when I do room checks. Good night."

"Good night." Aria hurried to her room so she could relax. Not too long after she had gotten comfortable and had the drops in her eyes, she fell asleep, long before Ezra came around.

The rest of the senior trip flew by and before they knew it, they were packing their stuff to leave the next morning. "I can't believe its over you guys. I felt like while we were here time just stopped. Now we all have to go back and face the last couple weeks of our senior year, prom, and graduation. Aria's got her book, Emily and Spencer have school, and I have a bouncing bundle coming. We are all going to have these separate lives and I feel like we aren't going to be us anymore." Hanna said thoughtfully as she stuffed her dirty clothes in a bag.

"I know what you mean, but we'll all figure it out. I mean, I don't think once a month is too much to ask for. Even if it's a couple hours where the four of us get together and stuff our faces with ice cream." Emily suggested, tossing one of Spencer's shirts to her.

Aria smiled, "It's a deal. And if we ever want a sleepover, my house is huge."

"Good plan. Or my barn." Spencer added and they all hurried to finish packing so they could get to bed.

They next day, the flight up the east coast seemed to take no time at all, since none of them were ready to return to Rosewood. They would all have Sunday to recover and then back to school Monday, before prom the following weekend. Aria wished she could take Ezra, but she was glad she had a date anyway. She knew her friends would be preoccupied with their own dates.

When Ezra and Aria finally returned home, they collected up the mail and watered the plants. Then they hurried to their bedroom to release the sexual tension they'd been feeling all week. When they finally dragged themselves from the bedroom, Ezra ordered Chinese food while Aria got a shower.

They spent a quiet evening just being together and finally were content to curl up in bed together and go to sleep.

The next week of school passed quickly for the girls and Friday evening they all went to the mall, "Aria, I can't believe you waited until the day before prom to look for a dress."

"I'm sorry. I've been busy. Plus, I thought I had a dress that I could wear, but I can't find it. The house is still not completely in order." She apologized, hoping they could just find something quickly.

"Luckily you have the style queen to help you find something." Spencer nudged Hanna.

She shook her head, "I know I'm good, but I might not be that good. Let's hurry."

After an hour of trying on dresses, Aria finally found one that met with Hanna's approval. "Great. Let's get out of here."

"Not so fast. What about shoes and jewelry, not to mention a handbag." Hanna began browsing accessories as Aria went to put her street clothes back on.

She sighed as she approached her friends, "I don't know why you are making such a big deal out of this. Its not like I'm actually dating Uriah or anything."

"I know," Hanna said as she Aria a chucky bracelet, "But you will be in pictures with us and we need you to look amazing."

Aria finally gave up and let Hanna finish accessorizing her outfit. Sooner than she thought, Aria was home, hanging her dress in the closet. Ezra peeked into their bedroom, "How did it go?"

"I feel like Hanna's little mannequin." Aria sat on the edge of the bed and sat her bag on the floor.

He sat next to her, "Sounds like fun. Can I see the dress?"

"No. You can see it tomorrow. You're still chaperoning, right?"

Ezra nodded, "Yes. So I get to watch as you hang out with your little boyfriend, wishing you could be with this." He made a muscular pose.

"You wish. At least he's not old like you." Aria giggled as Ezra began tickling her sides. They were about to start undressing when there was a knock at the door. Aria straightened herself and hurried downstairs. They were still careful about Ezra answering the door. She opened the door to find a man in a suit standing in front of her, "Can I help you?"

"Mrs. Fitz? I'm Detective Frank Graham from the FBI," he showed her his badge, "is your husband home?"

She nodded slowly. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she was terrified, "Yes. Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you." He stepped inside and stood aside so she could close the door. She called upstairs for Ezra to come down. "Ezra, this is Detective Graham from the FBI."

Ezra shook his hand, "Hello Detective. How can we help you this evening?"

"I was given this case by one of our offices in Florida. You are familiar with Jacquelyn Molina. She is the one who assaulted you Mrs. Fitz. Am I correct?" He read off a small notepad.

She nodded, "Yes."

"We also received information that she was killed in a car accident. The body was beyond recognition. We ran dental records and found that the body in the accident did not belong to Miss Molina. Apparantly she took the trip with her sister and she is the one who perished. We are currently searching for Miss Molina and we wondering if either of you have had any contact with her or heard anything of her?"

Aria's face went white and she needed to sit, "I haven't heard from her. I didn't know she was alive."

"What about you Mr. Fitz?" The detective turned toward him.

Ezra shook his head, "No. I haven't heard anything either."

"Alright. Mr. Fitz, can I have a moment of your time?" Detective Graham exited the house and Ezra followed, closing the door. "Thank you for speaking with me. I want to inform you that before we even got the dental records back, we got a hit on her name. She bought a handgun in North Carolina. We have a feeling she may be trying to hurt you or your wife. We suggest either leaving town for a while or we can put plain-clothed officers with you and your wife, for protection. Leaving the area would probably be the safest option, but if she knows you aren't here, she may hide until you return or track you down. If you have an officer with you, it's not very obvious. They would dress like a teaching assistant or a student so they could be with you in school. We'd also have a patrol around the school grounds as well as your home. When possible, you should where a bulletproof vest. We have them now that are very unnoticeable." Detective Graham explained, confusing Ezra a little.

He sighed, "I don't exactly understand. I get why she'd be trying to hurt us, but why is the FBI involved? Isn't this a local matter?"

"We believe that she is involved in two deaths. In Philadelphia, a couple was shot and killed. They fit your and your wife's descriptions. We are trying to protect you."

"Okay. Thank you so much. So you have a card so I can contact you?" Ezra wondered. He wanted to get back inside to Aria.

The detective handed him two cards, "One for you and one for your wife. I'd prefer if the two of you would talk this over and give me a call within an hour so if you decide to stay, we can brief you in the morning and if not, we'll work on travel arrangements. Across the street there is a black sedan. Gordon and Joe are going to be watching your house tonight, just in case. Make sure all your doors and windows are secure tonight and set your alarm systems. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

"No. Thank you. I'll call you soon." Ezra shook his hand again and hurried inside the house. Aria was still sitting with the same terrified look on her face. "I'll be right back." Ezra went around the house to all the doors and windows to make sure they were locked and curtains were closed. He set the alarm code and they joined his wife on the couch.

She stiffened, "She's after me, isn't she?"

"She's after us. Detective Graham said we can either stay and have undercover agents with us at all times or we can leave town for a while." Ezra explained.

Aria turned and sobbed into his chest. After a few minutes, she calmed down and Ezra explained everything that the detective had gone over. She sighed, "I think we should stay. I don't want to run away. And who knows who she could hurt if she can't find us."

"Are you sure?" Ezra asked. Aria nodded and Ezra quickly called Detective Graham. He hung up the phone after a brief conversation, "They will be here at six in the morning to go over everything and to meet our agents."

She felt like she was going to pass out, "I need to lie down."

"I'll take you to bed." He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to their bed. He laid her down and went to find her pajamas. By the time he returned, she was asleep. He changed quickly and slipped into bed next to her. "I'll keep you safe," he whispered before laying his head down, trying in vain to sleep.


	29. Chapter 28

**So I'm very sorry about not updating in so long. Life catches up with you once in a while. On a happier note, I'm almost finished with the next chapter as well. I hope you enjoy! (Thanks to all of my reviewers also. You mean a lot to me!)**

The next morning, the agents came back to go over protocol and assign agents to each of them. They attempted to talk Aria and Ezra out of attending the prom, but that didn't work. "I am not giving up my life because some woman is psycho. I'm going." Aria went upstairs to get her dress and everything to head to Spencer's to get ready.

The agent, Courtney Adams, approached her, "I need to accompany you."

"Fine. Let me say goodbye to Ezra and we can go." Aria pulled Ezra aside and gave him a long hug. "Are you going to be okay with me being out of sight for a few hours?"

He sighed, "I'll live. You better get going. I'll see you there. I love you."

"Love you too." Aria kissed him quickly and directed Agent Adams to the passenger side of her car.

When they arrived at Spencer's house, Aria led Agent Adams to the barn where the girls were already waiting. Hanna glared at her, "Where have you been? We have to do your makeup, hair, and nails, and you are not giving us a lot of time."

"Sorry. I have some stuff going on." Aria shrugged and sat down in the chair where Hanna was pushing her to. "This is Courtney by the way. Do we have a dress that will fit her?"

Spencer nodded, "I'm sure I do. Let me look." She retreated to the back rooms of the barn and appeared a few minutes later with a few selections. "Who are you?"

"I'm Aria's cousin." Courtney repeated the fabricated story they had come up with.

Aria chuckled, "Which is code for, my bodyguard."

"Aria! I can't protect you if you tell everyone that I'm protecting you." Agent Adams snapped.

She rolled her eyes, "They would be just as quick to jump in front of a bullet for me as you would."

"In your dreams," Hanna growled as she nearly burnt her hand on the curling iron she was holding, "I don't want any holes in my new dress."

Everyone laughed as Aria filled the girls in on what was going on with Jackie.

Another hour went by before they were all ready to go. Soon, the ladies were piled in a luxurious limo on their way to one of their last high school events.

The guys met them at the hotel where the prom was being held. As the exited the limo, their dates lined up to lead them inside. Uriah timidly approached Aria, "You look amazing."

"Thanks. You look quite dashing yourself." Aria took his offered arm and walked inside with him while Agent Adams followed. "This is my cousin Courtney. She is visiting from New York."

Uriah greeted the girl and turned his attention back to Aria. Even though Aria had explained she had a boyfriend and she was only going as his friend, Uriah seemed to be a little too interested in her. She was very polite and took pictures with him, then left him by the punch to get her picture with the girls. They were nice enough to block off the area so Ezra could sneak into a picture with Aria. She rejoined Uriah for a few dances before he pulled her aside. "Thank you for coming with me tonight. I'd hate to look back on my Senior prom and think that it sucked that I didn't have a date. I also would hate to look back on tonight and think that I should have done this," he leaned in to kiss Aria and she was so stunned that she didn't stop him.

After a few seconds she pushed him away, "Uriah, I told you, I have a boyfriend. And I really don't appreciate that you took advantage of him not being here."

"I'm sorry. I was kind of hoping you were just trying to blow me off nicely. I didn't know you really had a boyfriend. I wasn't trying to push anything." Uriah sounded sincere with his apology.

She sighed, "It's okay. Just don't do it again." She led him back onto the dance floor to join her friends. She scanned the room and found Ezra standing near the door, looking pale. She wasn't sure if it was that he witnessed the kiss or if it was something else, but she had to find out. She nodded her head toward the lobby and turned to her friends, "I'll be right back. I just have to go to the bathroom." She hurried to meet Ezra in the lobby. He looked even worse up close, "Are you okay?"

"You kissed him," he whispered.

She shook her head, "No, it's not like that."

He nodded, "He kissed you and you didn't stop him."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't want it to happen. I wasn't even expecting it. That's why I didn't stop him. I pulled away as soon as I knew what was happening. I snapped at him and he apologized at once. He thought that I had made up the boyfriend. Well he was hoping anyway. Please don't be mad. I'm sorry." Aria wanted to hold his hand, hug him, and comfort him, but knew that wasn't possible in their current surroundings.

Again, he only nodded, "I need to breathe. I'll talk to you about this at home."

"Okay. I love you." She hurried away from Ezra before anyone got suspicious. She spent the rest of the night in the group and kept a little distance between herself and Uriah.

As the night wound down, Aria was eager to get home. She was tired and hungry, but more importantly wanted to talk to Ezra.

She exited to the lobby to wait for her friends and the limo when she was approached by one of the hotel clerks, "Are you Aria?" After nodding, he handed her a rose with a note and a key card. 'Meet me in room 203. –E'

Aria was excited that Ezra had gotten a room and hurried toward the elevator. The door was just opening when Emily stopped her, "Where are you going?"

"Ezra got us a room. I'm going upstairs. Will you let the others know that I'll call them tomorrow?" Aria stepped onto the elevator.

Emily looked skeptical, "Are you sure?"

She only could nod before the door closed and she was on her way to apologize to her husband.

A rational person would think to get a hold of the person who supposedly left the note, but Aria was only thinking of talking to Ezra and apologizing again. As soon as she entered the room she could sense something was off. She was about to turn and leave the room when everything went black.

As she began to come to, Aria wanted to yell, but she couldn't. She wasn't sure if there was something preventing her for doing so or if she just couldn't get her brain to connect with her mouth. She knew she made a mistake. She knew she had to figure out a way to get back to Ezra. She tried to move but realized she was tied to a chair.

"Finally waking up I see. I didn't think I hit you that hard," the woman laughed. Aria instantly knew it was Jackie.

She shook her head, trying to come to her senses, "What do you want with me?"

"I want to make you pay for taking Ezra away from me." Jackie flashed a large knife in front of Aria's face.

Aria had to think quickly, "Ezra and I aren't together anymore."

Jackie scoffed, "I'm supposed to believe that?"

"It's true. We were really only married so I could stay here in town when my family moved. I'm not in love with him. When you wouldn't leave us alone, I decided it wasn't worth it to try to keep the secret anymore. I was here with someone else tonight." Aria explained, silently thanking Uriah for being her date.

The crazy woman shook her head, "You're lying."

"Check my phone," Aria motioned toward the bed wear she could see her phone was lying.

Jackie looked unconvinced, but began to scan through the pictures anyway. In front of her, she saw all the pictures from the prom, including a few of Aria and Uriah together. Thankfully, she still didn't have any pictures of Ezra on her phone in case she lost it. "I see. Well I guess this changes things. Now I'm going to have to feel bad about killing you."

"Why are you doing this?" Aria had hoped Jackie would let her go.

"I can't let you go. I've held you hostage. I've threatened you. I'm not going to jail for you." Jackie approached Aria with the knife.

Aria closed her eyes tightly, "Not my face. Don't do that to my parents."

"As you wish," Jackie raised the knife to stab Aria, when then door flew open.

Three agents burst in, "Drop the knife, put your hands in the air!"

Jackie wasn't going to go quietly. She began to draw her gun when the agents fired on her. Aria tipped her chair over and landed on the ground to avoid the gunfire. A second later, Jackie landed on top of her. Dead. Her blood had begun to run onto Aria's face, making her look like she'd been injured.

The agents pulled the body off of her and cut her lose. She climbed to her feet despite their protests. "I wasn't shot. I'm fine. How did you know where to find me?"

"We'll brief you at the station. We need to clear the area." An agent took Aria by the arm and led her from the room, down the stairs, and out the back door. He didn't want to create any panic over Aria's appearance. He ushered her into a police car and they whisked her away from the crime scene.

As terrified as she had been, Aria couldn't help but breathe a sigh a relief. Jackie really was gone this time and she wasn't going to have to worry about her any longer. When they got to the police station, they led her into and interrogation room to keep her from talking to anyone. She was sitting by herself for at least twenty minutes before anyone came in. A large male police officer entered, looking rather intimidating. He completely blocked his companion from view. As soon as Veronica Hastings stepped into view Aria hurried into her embrace, finally falling apart. She sobbed for what seemed like an eternity before Mrs. Hastings calmed her down enough to speak with her. "Are you okay?"

"As okay as I can be. I was so scared. What's going on?" Aria wondered since no one had told her anything.

Veronica pulled out a notebook and a pen, "Well Jackie is certainly dead. You look awful. Are you sure you aren't hurt?"

"I'm fine. They haven't let me go to the bathroom or even have a drink since I got here." Aria didn't even realize she was thirsty until then, but now she felt parched.

"The dectectives need to collect evidence from you. I'm going to make sure they are hurrying along and I'll find you a drink. What I need you to do is write in your own words everything that happened right after Prom. Don't sign it until I return." Mrs. Hastings advised and was escorted back out of the room by the officer.

Aria composed herself a little more before scribbling the details of her ordeal on paper. She had just finished when Veronica returned with a bottle of Coke and a sandwich. "I didn't know what you liked but Spencer helped."

"Spence is here?" Aria was relieved that she had a friend there.

She nodded, "All the girls are. Where else would they be?" She picked up Aria's statement and reead it over, "Good. Nothing incriminating here. You can sign it now."

"Incriminating?" Aria quickly signed the paper, "I didn't do anything."

Mrs. Hastings nodded, "I know that. They know that. This is just in case anything ever comes up you have your statement right here."

"When am I going to be able to get out of here?" Aria wondered, "Does my husband know anything?"

She nodded, "Yes. He is home, waiting for a call. He knows that you are safe. The police still have to come in and question you before you can leave. Shouldn't be too much longer."

"Are we talking privately?" Aria asked, glancing toward the two-way mirror.

"Yes," Veronica replied hesitantly, as though she wasn't sure of the answer. She smiled and added, "And anyway, anything we discuss is private so even if someone were listening in, they would get in a lot of trouble for repeating anything they heard."

Aria sighed, "What if they ask about my husband? Would that get anyone into trouble?"

"I don't think so. Let's just see what happens. If you feel uncomfortable with any question they ask, just look to me and I'll direct you." Mrs. Hastings advised.

The door opened and two officeres walked in, "Ok Mrs. Fitz, do you have any questions? If not, you are free to go."

"How did you find me?" Aria needed to how she was still alive.

"Your friend, Emily Fields, states that you were given a room key to supposedly meet your husband after the prom. She saw him outside and when he said he had no idea about a room, she called us. Not a minute later, the agent that you were supposed to let protect you called in that you were missing," the officer explained. "Anything else?" Aria shook her head. "Okay, then you are free to go," the officer smiled and released Aria without any questioning, saying they just needed to wrap up the crime scene but there was nothing more they needed from her.

Aria hurried from the room before anything else could happen and she was met by a group hug with all her friends. "I have to get home to Ezra."

"He's outside. He has been here for about 20 minutes. He stepped out to call your mom. The cops had called her." Hanna pointed toward the side door of the precinct.

Aria rushed outside and into her husband's arms. After a few moments, Aria picked up his cell phone that was now laying on the ground, "Hi Mom. I'm fine. Really. I will talk to you tomorrow. I really need to get home and lay down. Yes, I promise. Love you too."

"I can't believe this is all happening. You look terrible!" Ezra cried, hugging his wife again.

She rolled her eyes, "Like you are all that sexy."

"No, I mean you are covered in blood." Ezra chuckled at her sarcastic jab.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Let's get home." Aria took Ezra's hand and they walked around the building to his car.

He didn't let her get in though. He pulled her closer to him, "Are you sure you are okay?"

"Well I'm going to make an appointment with Dr. Sullivan this week and see how it goes. I am fine right now. Just grateful to be alive. And knowing that Jackie is really dead this time, will help I think, but I've had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder before so I may have it again after this. Just stay with me and help me through it and I'll be fine." Aria leaned up and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

They heard a gasp behind them, "Boyfriend?"

"Uriah, what are you doing here?" Aria wondered, too shocked to defend her actions.

He glared, "I heard something happened and that you were here. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Fitz is your boyfriend? Is that even legal?"

"I'm 18 years old and he's not my teacher this year. The principal already knows. And he's not my boyfriend. He's my husband." Aria explained calmly, not thinking of the ramifications her actions could have.

He glanced toward the building, "Do the police know? I'm sure they'd love to hear about a teacher-student relationship."

"They do know. And anyway why do you want to cause problems for us. I thought we were friends." Aria sounded hurt.

He scoffed, "You were stringing me along. You told me you had a boyfriend. I thought maybe I could show you how great I could be and you'd dump him for me. I didn't realize I was competing with an old man."

"Who are you calling old?" Ezra chuckled, "Listen, Uriah, you are a nice guy. And you are going to find a great girl. But you have no one to blame for your feeling but yourself. You knew Aria was involved with someone, maybe not that she was married, but still off the market. You kissed her anyway, in front of me, which you didn't know was a bad thing at the time, but if I had been the 18 year old guy you thought she was dating, and I had witnessed you kissing my girlfriend, you'd have a broken nose right now. So thank your lucky stars that I am more mature, or as you say, 'old.' Now we are going home. I'm sure once you've had a chance to think things over, you won't be as upset about all of this."

Uriah opened his mouth a few times to respond, but finally only could come up with a mumbled 'whatever' before turning to leave.

"I hope he doesn't cause any problems for us." Aria sighed as she climbed into the car.

Ezra shrugged, "Well there's only two weeks before graduation. If I have to resign, I will. After nearly losing you, my job is so unimportant in the grand scheme of things."

When the couple got to their house, they undressed out of their formal clothes, "I am so tired but I know I need to shower."

"Come with me. I'll help you." Ezra took her hand and led her to the bathroom. He started the shower while Aria finally got a look in the mirror.

She shrieked, "Oh my god! I look like something from a horror movie. No wonder you said I look terrible." She began crying as the scene replayed in her mind.

"Don't worry. You will be okay." He took her in his arms and held her tightly, "I'm here and your friends are here and your parents are a phone call away. No one is going to let anything happen to you again." He helped her undress the rest of the way and got into the shower with her. He washed her hair and body, the whole while she seemed in a daze. He helped her dry off and attempted to braid her hair. He then carried her to the bedroom and helped her with her pajamas. After getting her into the bed, he turned off the lights and snuggled down next to her, thanking God that he still had her.


End file.
